Violet Redux
by gidgetwexler
Summary: When an unknown visitor appears at the DEO with a message of despair, Alex, Kara, and the rest of our agents must quickly come to terms with an extraordinary situation if they want to prevent the oncoming destruction of everything they know and love. (or 'The One Where Alex's Daughter Shows Up To Save The Day')
1. Chapter 1

"Director. Sir I have something that needs your attention. Preferably on the sooner side." J'onn looked up to see Agent Vasquez standing in the doorway to his office.

"Come in Agent. What's going on?"

"Sir, someone was downstairs. All the way downstairs, in one of the restricted wings. We picked her up on one of the cameras, it showed her just… appear… and drop. She was unconscious when security got to her. They're restraining her anyway and taking her to medical, but I assumed you'd want to be notified immediately." Agent Vasquez quickly passed him a tablet with the security feed and reported as clearly as she could. This was the D.E.O. after all, strange things had happened on her watch before. This one was just a little more out of the ordinary.

"She appeared? An alien? Or alien tech." J'onn asked, standing to follow her towards the medical bay, eyes on the video the entire time.

"Unclear sir. She certainly looks human, but the doctors have already been directed to do a full analysis, hopefully to be completed before she wakes up."

J'onn continued down the hall into the secondary medical bay, a step behind Vasquez, just as their new arrival was being secured. She appeared relatively young, maybe early twenties, and the shape she was in suggested she'd recently gotten into it with someone - or something. Closing the sliding glass door behind him, J'onn watched as a preliminary digital scan was conducted to determine if their guest was any immediate threat. He gestured to her face, jawline newly bruised with a fresh cut over her eye.

"That was not us, correct?"

"No sir. Like I said, she was unconscious when they got to her. The state she's in is the way she arrived." Vasquez responded. The 'all clear' was given and all at once there was a flurry of activity; additional scans were underway almost immediately, personal effects (the little that there were) were removed and catalogued. Two doctors began physical exams, making note of all preexisting injuries.

"I'd like to keep this quiet until we know what we're dealing with. Please update me with whatever they can find, and let me know when she's awake. I'd like to talk with her as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

J'onn turned on his heel and made his way back to his office, only to find Supergirl waiting for him. "Kara, I'm not sure I have anything interesting for you at the moment. The city has been fairly calm today." _Too bad the D.E.O. couldn't take a hint from National City and take a day off from the unexplainable_ , J'onn thought to himself.

"Is that why we're keeping something quiet in medical?"

J'onn swore to himself under his breath, quickly deciding whether it would be better to let her in on the situation now, or to deal with trying to keep her from doing the digging herself. "Super hearing. Definitely not my favorite of all your enhanced abilities," he said, giving in to the inevitable.

"Says the man who could read my mind if he wanted to," Kara stood with her arms crossed, raising an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth, happy to go toe to toe on invasive abilities with the Martian.

"Fair enough. We had an intruder in one of the restricted areas. From what we can tell she just appeared out of nowhere. I have a team trying to put the pieces together now."

"Appeared? Like teleported? Or came through a portal? She could be from another universe, we've definitely seen that happen," Kara started laying out ideas and questions one after another, everything from their guest being from another earth to being an enemy with the ability to phase through walls.

"Kara, so far what we can tell is that she's human, she's unconscious, and she didn't come through a portal. Or at least not one that looks anything like the ones we've encountered before. Additional testing is being done, but we may not know much more until she wakes up." J'onn pulled up the security feed on the screen behind his desk, queuing it up to the time and location that Vasquez had showed him earlier.

"Kara, Winn said you were up—what the hell is that." Alex came through the door just in time to see the young woman flash into frame and drop to the ground.

"The intruder that we're not talking about until we know what's going on, she's in medical and they're running tests," Kara remarked over her shoulder, eyes still focused on the screen.

"See, this is why we don't let you keep secrets," J'onn said, closing his eyes, fingers to his temples.

"It's Alex, it's not like you weren't going to tell her," Kara responded. Alex stood beside her, watching as a handful of armed agents arrived at the scene, checked to see if the girl was alive, and got on their coms for further instructions.

"Well that's a new one on me, I don't see a point of entry or anything." Alex examined the footage, wheels turning. A knock on the office door pulled her from her thoughts and all three turned to see Agent Vasquez holding her tablet.

"Sir, she's starting to wake up. I assume everyone is in the loop, considering the security feed we were keeping quiet is up on the wall…" Vasquez raised an eyebrow; glad she wouldn't have to keep this from Alex or Kara.

"You two, stay here. Feel free to watch our conversation but I have a feeling the fewer people that ambush this girl, the better she'll respond."

"Of course," Alex replied, "we'll wait here." Vasquez pulled up the feed to the medical bay on her way out so they could keep a close eye on whatever it was that was about to take place.

* * *

J'onn mentally prepared himself as he arrived at the opaque glass doors of the medical bay. He squared his shoulders and stepped inside as the door slid open.

"Good. Now that you're awake I think it's time we introduce ourselves and have a long and serious conversation about your trespassing." J'onn knew he was coming on strong, but Vasquez had informed him that their scans had turned up nothing, save for some cuts and bruises and a handful of old wounds on x-ray, so the only way he expected to get answers was directly from this girl that had somehow made her way past every single security measure they had in place.

"What? I'm not trespassing anything; I don't even know how I got here. Who are you?" The girl propped herself up on an elbow – the one that wasn't attached to the handcuffed wrist that was keeping her in bed. Granted now that she thought about it she probably wasn't going anywhere anyway. Her head was spinning, ears ringing, and for some reason the lights above her seemed to be abnormally bright, almost blinding. Fight or flight instinct isn't especially helpful when you're not physically capable of doing either. She willed herself to calm down and start taking stock of her surroundings.

"My name is Director Hank Henshaw, I'm with the D.E.O.. We found you in a restricted area and brought you to medical. Care to explain to me how you got there?" J'onn gave her as little as possible, he was far more interested in what she could tell him.

"Hilarious. The D.E.O. was decommissioned years ago, everyone knows that. And I told you, no idea. Last thing I remember I was running. There was an explosion, the sky turned red, and I took off. Then suddenly I'm here." The girl lifted her handcuffed arm as high as she could, defiantly pointing out her restraints.

"I can assure you, no such thing happened. The D.E.O. has been as active and crucial as ever, especially recently. As for explosions, none of our satellites have picked up anything nearly large enough to do what you're describing."

"That's impossible, it was deafening. I'm not even sure where it was, but I could feel it. The ground shook and the wind just came up and hit me."

"We would have been notified."

"This is insane. Where am I. Give me a location, building, coordinates, whatever you have. I'm not lying, I swear there has to be a way that I can prove it." J'onn noted the fire behind her eyes as she defended her story and his interrogation plan started to waver. She seemed almost as confused to be there as they were to find her. Perhaps she was a victim? Or a pawn in someone else's scheme?

"You're at the civilian base of the D.E.O. in National City. We brought you up to medical less than an hour ago."

"National City… but there is no… how?"

"What do you mean how."

After a moment of silence, brows furrowed and lips tightly together, as if she was searching for an epiphany, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I know this is going to sound crazy, trust me I'm fully aware of that, but... what year is it?"

J'onn was starting to conclude that this wasn't going to be nearly as straightforward as he was hoping for. Was an alien with easily explained teleporting abilities really too much to ask for? "It's 2017," he responded. He watched as the girl in front of him paled and slowly sunk back into the hospital bed. For the first time since they'd started talking she seemed to be truly at a loss. The defensive persona she'd put up all but disappeared.

"Fuck."


	2. Chapter 2

"So we think she's from a different time?" Alex asked J'onn as soon as he returned to his office. She and Kara had watched the entire conversation, quietly going back and forth between themselves with theories and questions.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think. She certainly doesn't appear to be a threat at the moment, so I'm going to give her some time to come to terms with... whatever it is she's clearly in the process of coming to terms with. And I want Agent Schott analyzing every item she arrived with, we need to pin this down." J'onn stood back and watched the live feed of the girl silently sitting in medical. The look on her face was one he'd seen before, though it was hard to describe. He could pick up on shock, confusion, and what looked like a little bit of loss with a dash of denial

"We should go back in there." Kara said.

" _We_ will do no such thing. I will give her some time, and then go back in." J'onn was adamant. He had no idea what else this girl was going to tell them, but he had a pretty good idea that it was all about to get significantly more complicated. And even though she had put up a brave front, it was clear she was terrified. For now, they would keep an eye on their visitor from his office and see if anything changed.

* * *

"If you're up to it, I'd like to continue our discussion." J'onn had knocked before entering the medical bay, unsure of what he would find. He had been keeping an eye on the girl for a couple hours, and it didn't appear that she had moved. At all.

A moment went by, then another, and then, "I'm in 2017. And you're Director Henshaw. So… J'onn J'onzz." The girl stated, factually, without looking up.

"How do you know that." J'onn immediately went on the defensive. Regardless of where – or when – this girl was from there was little reason for her to know his true identity.

"Well apparently I'm from the future, so I've got a feeling there's a lot of things that I know." She replied, sarcasm filling the room as she did.

 _Oh good, back to defiant and blunt. So glad we're making progress_ J'onn thought to himself. "Evidently. Since you seem to know who I am, I think it's fair that you tell me who you are."

"My name is Violet... Daniels." She took her time, and J'onn wasn't sure whether she was being truthful. He decided not to call her on it.

"Well Violet, if you're from the future, can you tell me when you're from? And how in the hell you got here?"

"You said it's 2017? That makes me… 21 years in the past. As for the rest, I can try. I've got a hunch, but I honestly have no idea how to figure out if I'm right."

"I'll take whatever hunch you've got," J'onn offered. This time around he'd opted to go with discussion over interrogation. It was clear that something massive was underway, and the sooner they could figure out what that was – and what it was supposed to accomplish – the better. Violet seemed to have reached the same conclusion, and didn't appear to be opposed to sharing.

"It might be kind of a long story. The explosion I was telling you about, that's not the first one. We've been resisting an invasion for a while now. We've managed to fight them off a few times over the past couple decades, but this time they came back strong, and with much larger forces. This time we haven't been able to defeat them. They've been wiping humans out since about five years ago. Everything is falling apart. It's like a world war, but this time the whole world is on the same side, and we're still losing. They don't take prisoners; they just take over or kill. When it all started I heard this theory that it was because of something in the past that wasn't supposed to happen and that if someone could travel back and prevent that... I wish I'd paid more attention, but it just sounded so insane at the time. But now... I think I may have been sent here to fix it, and to stop them."

"Them?"

"We call them the Dominators."

* * *

Kara and Alex, back at their post in J'onns office, both stared at Violet on the security feed.

"She— she said dominators. They come here. Alex I saw what they can do, what they tried to do to Barry's earth. If that's the future she's been through…" Kara stopped, imagining how bad things could go from here, what their future and Violet's past must look like.

"Kara, we don't know nearly enough to start jumping to conclusions," Alex said. She had been watching this girl's face closely, and the only red flag she'd seen was when 'Violet Daniels' told J'onn her name. Everything else she'd said was either true, or she firmly believed it to be true. If they were going to take her at her word, then their future was going to be a bleak one.

"I think we should go talk to her. J'onn doesn't know the Dominators like I do, he won't know what questions to ask," Kara stood up and headed to the door, Alex at her heels.

"Kara, he's doing fine, he wanted us to wait here."

"That was last time, before we knew where she came from. Trust me Alex, if there's something coming that we can stop, we need to be in there."

"Kara!" Alex hurried after her, "Dammit, wait for me."


	3. Chapter 3

"You said they decommissioned the D.E.O.. Why the hell would they do that if there was an active alien invasion." J'onn tried to wrap his mind around what Violet was telling him. He knew about the Dominators, but thankfully had never had the pleasure of facing off against one. Then again, Mars had been a little preoccupied with its own homegrown genocide. It's not like they had needed any outside help.

"There was… an incident. They determined that the D.E.O. couldn't be effective. So the military stepped in and took over. New agents, new name, new directive. Can't say it's been all that successful, but then again, what do I know." Violet once again looked at her hands, and J'onn watched her face and tried to figure out what she was so carefully trying not to say. She paused, then clarified, "everyone fights though, everyone that's left. There's the military, the resistance, and the dead. That's pretty much it. Some people have been able to hide in rural areas, but eventually they'll be found."

"Sorry, hi, you were telling him about the Dominators? I know all about them, what else can you tell us. When do they arrive? Where? We can be ready for them, we can stop them with your help," Kara came rushing in, nearly tripping over herself with purpose.

"Kara—" J'onn should have known that she'd be right in as soon as the word Dominator came up. Maybe it was for the best, maybe they could all figure this out.

"I—" Violet stopped, and J'onn saw a flicker of recognition, and then… something else. The look on her face froze and J'onn followed her gaze not to Kara, but Alex.

"I'm sorry, I can't, I – I need a minute. There's a lot to, and I – I just," Violet stammered, her breath suddenly coming out in short, quick bursts. She could feel her chest tighten, and looked up to the ceiling and started silently counting to try and slow her breathing.

"Hey, hey I'm sorry, I know this must be overwhelming, take your time, I'll slow down," Kara reached for Violet's hand, hoping she could help her calm down. "I just know you want to help, and I think we can stop this together." Alex stayed in the doorway, trying to compile all the information that had been thrown at them over the last few hours and figure out what to do next. Obviously they needed as much information from this kid as possible, but with a response like that… clearly there was more to this story.

It took a couple minutes, but eventually Violet was able to compose herself. She wouldn't look at Alex, and would barely look up at Kara, but she was breathing normally and able to string words together again.

"Sorry," she murmured, "I do want to help, I'm just not sure how. Pretty sure every movie that's ever been made about time travel tells you not to change the past."

"It's ok, just start from the beginning. You're here to fix something right? Something that's already been changed?" Kara smiled softly, trying a different approach. She knew that she'd overwhelmed Violet, coming at her so forcefully, and didn't plan on letting that happen again.

"I think so. It was a theory. But it wasn't mine, so I don't know all the details. We talked about it years ago before… well, before everything went to shit." Violet said matter of factly.

Kara glanced over at Alex, silently willing her to come in and be a part of the conversation. Alex was better at this sort of thing; she had a way of being compassionate but getting down to business, and somehow finding the perfect balance of the two. Alex quietly made her way into the room and sat next to J'onn, "Violet, my name is Alex, I'm an agent here and I just want you to know that we're going to do whatever we can to get you home. Ok? Whatever you need."

Without looking up, Violet felt a tightness in her chest again, and a tear rolled down her cheek, "When we were talking about this 'theory', she talked about it in terms of a failsafe. About sending someone back to fix the timeline, but only if it got to the point where humanity and the world were unsalvageable. Which means if I'm here… "

"Then there's nothing there," Alex quietly finished. Her heart broke for this girl, realizing that whatever had gotten her to this point, whatever she had already lost, there could still be more to come.

"Fuck it. The life that I've lived… your future… it's shit. I'm not afraid of changing things, I want them to change. If that's why I'm here then I'm pretty sure I need to tell you everything," Violet looked around the room, meeting all their gazes for the first time. The look that had appeared on her face was one of determination and anger. "I hope I can disrupt things, because the future couldn't be any worse. Anything I can do to change the outcome, trust me it'll be for the better."

Violet paused, and Alex, Kara, and J'onn looked at each other. The rules of time travel weren't exactly well researched and documented, but if they could stop what was coming and prevent the literal end of the world? They needed to know what Violet had been holding back.

"First of all, I lied. But just a little bit." Violet turned her attention to J'onn, "There's a reason that I know who you are. I told you that my name was Violet Daniels… it's Danvers. And you," Violet nodded to Alex, "are my mother."


	4. Chapter 4

Alex stared at Violet, fairly certain that she was no longer capable of registering sounds. She knew she had heard the words, but the meaning behind them was taking a little longer to sink in.

"Alex." She suddenly felt J'onn's hand on her shoulder as Kara finally broke the deafening silence with a concerned nudge that brought Alex back to the present.

"Yes. No I'm good. I'm sorry, I just, I think I'm going to need a little more than that," Alex tried to find her voice, reassure Kara that she wasn't having a small breakdown, and urge Violet to continue, all at the same time. She searched Violet's face, looking for herself but finding nothing. The kid, her kid, if what she said was true, was a stranger. What kind of mother was she going to be if she couldn't even tell if this kid was hers?

Violet, still apparently fascinated by her own hands, took a breath and raised her eyes to Alex; "Your parents are Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers, my grandparents. Kara is – obviously – Supergirl, she's been your sister since you guys took her in when she was a kid. Because Krypton exploded. Superman is Clark Kent, he was the one who left her with you. You were going to be a doctor or something and then J'onn found you and you started working with the D.E.O.. I don't really know what I can tell you to prove that I am who I say I am, almost everything I know about you and I hasn't happened yet."

J'onn had been glancing at her vitals as she spoke. That was one nice thing about having her hooked up to all the monitors; he could be certain that there was no change in heart rate or respiration, and he hadn't noted any change in pupil dilation. Either she was a phenomenally trained liar, or she simply wasn't lying.

"Look, I don't know what I'm supposed to tell you… or what I'm supposed to change. Long story short, in 2038 the only one in this room that's still around is me," Violet broke eye contact with Alex and solemnly looked around at the rest of her very captive audience, "When I was 13 the Dominators came back to take over. They arrived all at once, all over the world."

Violet paused, unsure how to continue, "Almost everyone I know is either dead or missing. I know what happens to all of you between now and…" _deep breath,_ "between now and the end of the world."

Silence. Again. Awkward, uncomfortable, silence. Silence that permeated every inch of the small medical bay.

J'onn eventually spoke first, leaving Alex and Kara to their thoughts, "It sounds like we need to know. To understand. And if the purpose of you being here is to circumvent all of this, then hopefully it's information that we won't need to see first hand anyway."

Violet stared at J'onn, impressed with how well he seemed to be taking all of this, but fairly certain she was about to cure him of that.

"You died first," she gets the words out, bitter and vile on her tongue, "saving my mom and a lot of other agents. And the story only gets worse from there."

"Tell us. It's ok, the more we know the better chance we have at stopping this. That's when the military took over?" Kara asked, recalling the story Violet had told J'onn when they were talking one on one. She waited for Violet to continue, a smile tugging at her heart. Despite everything she was learning, the fact that she could be talking to her niece hadn't escaped her. She could only imagine what was going through Alex's head right now. She glanced at her sister, who was still staring intently at Violet, not willing to look away.

Violet frowned and shook her head, "no, that's not until later. After J'onn died my mom took over. That's when she started talking about the timeline and fixing the past."

"The theory, it was mine? So that means I send you back." Alex spoke up, wondering how the hell she would be able to accomplish all this. From where she was sitting time travel still seemed very much unattainable.

"I think so," Violet met her eyes again, "you ran the D.E.O. for a while, and then Aunt Kara disappeared," she turned back to Kara, "one day you were just gone. You and Clark both actually… There was no trace and my mom went a little insane. She tracked you for about a year, chased every lead and looked everywhere. I tried to help, but things were getting bad so she mostly kept me at the D.E.O.. I was there when she went out for the last time," Violet's eyes went dark, "they let me on the coms, but it was all so fast that I don't think it mattered."

Mind spinning, Alex did her best to follow. On the one hand, the girl – young woman – sitting in front of her was about to lay out her own death for her. And then delve further into the timeline that would ultimately result in the end of the world. She was hearing that J'onn was going to die. That Kara. Her mother. _Maggie_. Everyone that she knew and loved. Was going to die.

But on the other hand. She was going to have a daughter. She had a daughter. That was physically within arms length, that she could literally reach out and touch. She just wanted to take a moment and take it all in, trace Violet's face in her mind.

"Violet. I'm sure it mattered," Kara broke in. She took Violet's hand again, unsure how to comfort her but desperately wanting to try, "she would have known you were there, I'm sure she heard you."

"It's not important now. I can fix it, I can make it so that never happened," Violet responded immediately. There was a fierceness behind her eyes that wasn't going anywhere. She racked her brain, desperately trying to recall the stories that she'd heard from her mother and her aunt. Stories about time travel and Dominators, but it was all wrapped up in painful memories oversaturated with the insanity of the last five years. "When Aunt Kara disappeared you kind of… lost yourself. You just kept talking about timelines and altered history. You used to say that we made the Dominators who they were. It never made sense to me, I figured you were trying to find a way to blame yourself for what happened."

"How could we have made them who they are? They come in and they destroy; it has nothing to do with us. It happened on Earth-1, it's going to happen here, I think it's pretty clear that this is what they do, regardless of who is in their way," Kara furrowed her brow, not wanting to imagine a world where her sister could believe she was responsible for the end of the world. Obviously there must be some meaning behind what Violet was reporting.

"I don't know. She used to say it was all because of… flash bang? Or something like that?"

"Flashpoint," Kara and Alex corrected simultaneously, meeting each other's eyes.

"That's it. She said without Flashpoint this never would have happened."


	5. Chapter 5

Alex silently uncuffed Violet. J'onn and Kara had stepped out, supposedly to go talk with Winn about the possible ripple effects of Flashpoint on their universe. Supposedly. Alex was pretty sure they just wanted to give her some time alone with Violet. Which was completely fine with her. She had so many questions, so many things that she wanted to know about her daughter. Violet rubbed her wrist, and cautiously watched as Alex took a seat at the foot of her bed.

"So. Can I ask about you? Would that be ok?" She hoped that this wouldn't be overwhelming, that Violet would be open to letting her in a little. But so far she could probably count the number of times Violet had even made eye contact with her on both hands. So she held her breath and resolved to smile, nod, and accept however Violet responded.

"I guess… hopefully it won't matter anyway, if everything goes right then the life you live with me could be completely different." Alex frowned, she hadn't really thought of it like that. But now that she was… She stopped herself, not interested in picking apart the 'what ifs' just yet. For now she just wanted to talk to her daughter.

"Um, ok. Here goes. And if there's anything you're not comfortable with, please, stop me." Alex held her hands up, preemptively asking for forgiveness before she started to devolve into interrogation territory. Deep breath, "How old are you? How have you been since… well since I died? Are you ok? What happened to your face? I know you talked about a resistance, is that how you made it as long as you did? You spent a lot of time at the D.E.O.? You had friends there? And after?" Alex was rambling, she knew she was rambling. She physically bit her tongue in order to stop herself and give Violet a chance to get a word in.

Wide eyed, Violet stared back at Alex. She was going to have to recount her entire life to her own mother. Definitely not something she ever expected to have to do. "Well, I guess we'll start from the top? I'm nineteen, I think. The days kind of run together, I'm not entirely sure what day, or month, it was when I… when I left. But I'm pretty sure that I should be nineteen by now. After you died I went and stayed in Midvale, but the Dominators eventually came out to the smaller towns. Soon pretty much everyone there was gone too… and then a few agents showed up to get me. They told me they had been assigned to protect me in the event that you couldn't. You made sure I would be safe."

"And they protected you, all this time?"

"Almost… eventually they all died. One at a time, usually because of me," Alex watched Violet's eyes go dark again, aching to try and convince her that she couldn't blame herself for agents doing their jobs. "I've been on my own for a while now, running and hiding. Fighting when I have to. That's the face. As if there aren't enough problems right now, there are some survivors who have… taken advantage. Of the lawlessness. There may have been a disagreement as to how willing I was to go somewhere with a couple guys that I ran across."

Alex swallowed the bile that was threatening to find it's way up and out of her stomach. She barely knew Violet, but the idea of someone trying to do anything like what she was imagining…

"I'm ok. I know what you're thinking, nothing ever happened. Nothing like that. You and Aunt Kara, and pretty much everyone you ever surrounded me with, you made sure I knew how to protect myself. And in this _specific_ instance, the sky exploded and that pretty much guaranteed that I wasn't the most important thing on their minds," Violet quipped, trying to reassure her. She knew how her mom used to get when she went into protective mama bear mode, and she was pretty sure that was something that she was about to trigger in her even now.

"Fair enough," Alex stifled the fury that was building in her chest. This was not the time. Literally. In this moment there was absolutely nothing she could do about some low life predators twenty something years in the future.

"So the sky exploded and that pretty much gets us to now. What about before? Were you… happy?" Alex watched as a sad smile appeared on Violet's face and instinctively mirrored it.

"Yeah. Very. Aside from the aliens that showed up every once in a while my life was great up until… it wasn't. Not perfect, we definitely had our share of difficult situations. But for the most part I grew up happy. Loved school. Had friends. Nothing too exciting really, just the alien thing. Probably not the childhood that anyone now would call normal… but for me it was." Violet hadn't spent this much energy focusing on her life before the invasion in ages. She had figured out a long time ago that there was no faster way to fall into a mental pit of helplessness and devastation than to think about what was. "That's the stuff I wouldn't want to change," Violet added softly.

Alex watched as Violet quieted, and decided to change the direction of the conversation a little bit. "I know this one might be a little off the wall, but who's your dad?"

"My dad? I have no idea, and I'm pretty sure you don't either," Violet responded, almost quizzically.

Alex wanted to ask the next logical question – _donor? What about your other mother?_ – but seeing Violet's face she decided that maybe this line of questioning was best postponed until a later time. "I have so many more questions, and I'll probably come up with a new one, or three, every couple minutes. But, what about you? Is there anything you want to ask? Anything you've always wanted to know?"

"Maybe? I think I probably know you pretty well."

"That makes sense, you probably know me better than I do really. And at least I don't have to come out to you, that's a nice change from everyone else in my life right now."

"Come out—wait you're gay?" Violet asked, shocked look on her face. Alex felt her heart drop, and a split second later a little smirk appeared on Violet's face. "You've been gay my whole life, not exactly news," she grinned. Relief washed over Alex, and she could feel a sigh escape her lips. Violet took notice, and immediately backtracked, "I'm sorry, bad timing? Execution? I didn't mean anything by it I swear."

"No, I just… it's new to me, I guess I'm not used to it being taken so lightheartedly yet."

"Oh. Sorry. It's literally just been a fact of my life, I'm not used to it _not_ being taken lightheartedly." Violet looked at the ground, clearly reacquainting herself with the understanding that this was not in fact her mother. Not the mother that she knew, and who knew her.

"Please. Please don't apologize. Nothing about this situation is normal, it would be strange if either one of us wasn't completely awkward," Alex leaned forward and placed her hand over Violet's as she hurried to try and salvage the moment they'd almost had; the first time Violet had smiled at her like that. Like she knew her.

"Well I can't argue with that. I doubt there's a handbook for this kind of thing lying around somewhere," Violet responded. She didn't pull her hand back, but it took a lot to leave it there. She had started to see her mother for a second, but reality had set back in. If her math was right, this version of her mom was what? Maybe ten years older than her? Basically a glorified older sister.

"No, I'm sure there's not. BUT. That doesn't mean we're not going to figure this out. I've got to go check on something, see if I can get an update ok? I know you're uncuffed, but you're healing and they're still keeping an eye on all your vitals, so do me a favor and stay here? Just so I – so we – know you're ok?" Violet gave a rigid, professional nod and Alex could have kicked herself. _Two steps forward, one step back_.

Alex made her way out of medical and upstairs, eying the video feed to Violet's room on her phone. It was probably just to make sure Violet stayed put, had nothing to do with the fact that she didn't want to let her out of her sight for even a moment.

But something had been tugging at the back of her mind, and despite her desire to stay with Violet, she needed to talk to someone who might be able to put her mind at rest.


	6. Chapter 6

"Winn. There's something that I need to ask you." Alex tracked him down in the lab, analyzing what looked like some sort of wristband and talking with Kara who was next to him and watching intently.

"Hit me." Winn replied without looking up. J'onn had had him analyzing Violet's personal effects and Kara had recently caught him up to speed. So far he'd gotten time travel, Dominators, baby Danvers, and end of the world pretty well under control in his mind. And he was loving it; time travel, alien invasions, _future_ alien invasions to be specific. It was like theoretical physics and space camp and all the best comic books all rolled into one. And then given steroids. By far the most intricate and intense project he'd ever worked on.

"I know Violet told us that at the moment she's sent back, in 20 years or so, there's nothing left to save. But. What about before that? What about the future leading up to that point? What if something changes between now and, I don't know, when she's born?"

"You're worried that you won't have Violet," Winn finished for her. He lifted his head and spun around on his stool to face her, "Actually that's kind of a valid concern really, I mean this is all completely theoretical, obviously, because, you know, _time travel_ , or maybe time travel on top of time travel, with the Flashpoint of it all, but the simple fact that what's happening now isn't what happened before, or next, or something…"

"Winn. Focus," Kara redirected. She didn't especially like where this conversation seemed to be headed and needed him to get to the point.

Winn nodded once and took a breath, "as far as I can figure, the fact that Violet has intervened in her ancestral timeline basically ensures that she won't exist."

Alex closed her eyes. She had been hoping that he would tell her she was being ridiculous. Or at least that he had no idea. Deep down she had had a pretty good idea that he was about to say exactly what she was thinking, but every fiber of her being had hoped that there was some other theory floating around in his head that might allow her to come to a different conclusion.

"I'm sorry, but your line of thinking… it's valid. If a specific human being is the result of random genetics, then the chances that her exact random genetic design will be repeated in a version of her own timeline that isn't exactly the same as the first time around? I'm not even sure there's a number that small. If her existence is dependent on you… and your timeline has been altered…"

"Then I don't have Violet," Alex finished softly.

"At least… not this Violet." Winn interjected. He was aware that wasn't any sort of consolation, didn't really know why he'd even said it actually. Suddenly the project that he'd placed up on his "Coolest Mission of All Time" pedestal wasn't feeling quite so incredible.

Alex's face didn't change. She simply turned her back to Kara and Winn and started to make her way out of the lab.

"Alex," Kara softly called after her sister, "Alex, hang on I'm coming with you."

"Kara, I just… I need a minute." Kara caught the monotone heartbreak in her sister's voice and the flash of a palm telling her to stay back. Which she did, sort of. Kara gave her about a 5 second head start and then set out to follow – at a safe distance of course. As she made her way through the maze of hallways that Alex was taking her down she couldn't even allow herself to think about how upset she was by this revelation, she needed to be there for her sister. God, she could only imagine…

When Alex slipped into an empty room it didn't take long for her to hear a quiet knock and Kara's concerned voice from the other side of the door.

"Alex?" Kara pushed the door open just enough to poke her head through.

"I must have known, right? I would have had to have known."

"Known what Alex?" Kara made her way in and sat next to her sister.

"Known that I was sending her back to this. How could I do that? How could I raise my daughter – have her and love her and get to know her, and then effectively erase her?" Alex turned to Kara, face resting in her hand. The effort that it was taking for her not to completely break down was evident.

"Alex, we don't know –"

"Don't know what? I don't know a whole lot about _any_ of this yet, and I can already put those pieces together. It's science; just biology and genetics and statistics. If I had even an inkling of doubt now… the version of myself that knows enough about time travel to _facilitate_ it can't be clueless."

"I don't know. But what I do know is you. There has to be more to this – extenuating circumstances. If this is the decision that you make, it must be the best one. The only one."

"Ha," Alex laughed angrily through the tears that were threatening to fall. She lifted her eyes upwards to (hopefully) stave them off, "I can tell you one thing Kara, you have a lot more faith in future me than I do."

"Of course I have faith in you Alex. Past, present, and future you." Alex turned to Kara, eyes glistening with the tears that were going to fall no matter what she tried to do to stop them.

"I have to tell her, I can't just pretend this isn't going to happen." Alex wiped her eyes; determination replacing the bitterness that covered her face only a moment ago.

"Whatever you think is best Alex. I trust you."

"God, what did I do to deserve you?" Alex's face softened as she leaned her head on Kara's shoulder.

"Who even knows, but clearly you owe me. So do me a favor and don't go all protective big sister crazy in this timeline ok? I don't want anyone to have to try and explain that one to Eliza."

"Shut up Kara."

"I love you, too."


	7. Chapter 7

"Violet? Hey, I know you're still getting settled but I need to talk to you about something." Alex reached the medical bay just as one of the doctors was finishing up another evaluation. "Everything ok?" She knew the frequent checks were routine, but she still instinctively felt the need to ask.

"Everything's fine ma'am, just checking vitals." The doctor reported on her way out. They hadn't exactly advertised Violet's lineage, so as far as everyone else who even knew about Violet was concerned, she was simply another D.E.O. mystery guest. At least the monitors were now off and she would be able to move around freely.

"There really aren't many more things they can poke me with, I think they've pretty much covered everything." Violet rubbed her arm, a hint of indignation at the additional blood sample they'd just collected.

Alex smiled to herself; everything this kid did made her like her a little bit more, even if it was just the way she effortlessly dropped in sarcasm and sass. Fuck she didn't want to have this conversation. Violet's life was already completely turned upside down; the last thing she wanted to do was make it worse.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure they'll start to relax with that soon."

"They better. Apparently I'm healing so I'm thinking I need my blood more than they do, we probably shouldn't deprive the time traveler of necessary bodily fluids. Just saying." Violet looked at her mom – at Alex. She had to catch herself and make sure she differentiated appropriately. This version of her mom wasn't her mom yet, and it was almost creepy to be looking into the younger face of her mother. It didn't take long for her to drop her gaze back to her hands. "What do we need to talk about? I think I covered the whole Dominator thing pretty well."

"No actually, it's about you… We think we figured something out that I want to make sure you know. I don't want you to feel like I'm keeping anything from you," Alex cautiously but purposefully laid out her preface. She noted a small, sad smile on Violet's face and paused.

"That sounds exactly like something you would have said to me growing up. You used to say we were stronger together and therefore you would never lie to me. Glad that seems to be a constant." Violet's smile became a little less sad as she lifted her gaze to meet Alex's again.

"Stronger together, sounds about right." Any doubt Alex still had that Violet was hers vanished in those two words. Her heart swelled involuntarily, only to get caught in her throat as she remembered what she was about to say. She took a seat next to Violet's bed and decided she was just going to say it.

"There's a good chance that you being here, now, before you're born, and… interfering," _wow that sounds cold_ , Alex thought to herself, "or trying to fix whatever it is that goes wrong… you getting involved in the lives of the people in your own history, we think that will change things to the point that you won't… exactly… happen." Alex watched Violet's face, unchanged by what she had just said. "What I mean is, with genetics, random genetics, and changed circumstances leading up to those random genetics, the outcome will be different. It won't be… you. I just wanted you to know. Fixing whatever it is that Flashpoint changed, that can still happen, and it will. But there are going to be consequences… And I'm sure they've already been set in motion. Violet I'm so sorry, I don't know how to fix this for you." Alex reached for Violet's hand and tried to prepare herself for whatever reaction might be coming.

Violet stared back at her, actually making full eye contact for more than a few seconds, and then… snickered. Not what Alex was expecting.

"That's what you had to tell me? That when you have a baby it won't be me?"

"Well… yeah. A couple of us put our heads together and tried to see if there was anything else that made sense, but there doesn't seem to be a way forward that results in… you," Alex tried to be as carefully specific as possible, she needed Violet to understand what she was saying, but didn't want to break her.

"Yeah I think we're good on that one. I'm not worried."

"Violet, this isn't really just some possibility that we're hoping against, we think it's inevitable."

"No it's not. And I promise I'm not just in denial or something. I guess I just assumed you knew – ran my DNA or something. I'm not biologically yours; you adopted me when I was a baby. Something about finding me on a mission. So unless me being here also somehow interferes with my unknown biological parents that may or may not even be in the city right now I think we're back to just some possibility that we're hoping against."

The relief that Alex felt flooding over her was indescribable. Of course there was still a chance that something would happen, but Violet was right, it was a chance. It wasn't a certainty, and Alex new better than anyone that beating the odds was more than possible. All the things she had been forbidding herself from thinking about were gone. Hell maybe her future self wasn't such a cold hearted insane person after all. Now maybe she could start to focus on the 'how' and 'why' of it all and not just the 'what ifs'.

"Oh thank god." Alex exhaled. She didn't even try to hide the grin that was making its way across her face. Even though she barely knew this kid, the idea that she might never get to see her again had been eating her up inside. It hadn't taken much for her to just _know_ that Violet was supposed to be hers, and the idea that she might never come to exist had felt like an immeasurable, inevitable loss. "Listen, since the doctor gave you the all clear, if you're feeling up to it I was thinking you could come up to the lab. They're going through your stuff, trying to figure out exactly how you got here."

Violet popped up, swinging her legs over the bed before she'd even opened her mouth to respond; "As long as it gets me out of this room, I'm in."


	8. Chapter 8

Kara eyed Alex and Violet cautiously as they walked into the lab one after another. Alex appeared to be doing better, and Violet certainly didn't look like someone had just told her that she was going to be erased from the timeline that she was there to fix. Then again, what the hell was that supposed to look like anyway?

Alex looked to Kara for a second, small but reassuring smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, then turned her attention to Violet as she made her way into the lab. "Violet, this is Winn. He's a good friend, one of our brightest minds, and he's been working on figuring out how you got back here."

"Yeah, I – I know Winn," Violet replied.

"Right. Of course you do. Winn, this is Violet. My daughter. From the future. Who is here to stop the aliens," Alex stated factually, yet with an air of disbelief. That seemed to be the simplest way to explain what was going on, regardless of how preposterous it seemed.

Winn reached out and shook Violet's hand. "Now that is a hell of an introduction. Violet, at some point I'm going to need you to get me up to speed on all the tech we're going to be looking at in the next twenty years. Vitally important. But for now, I was hoping we could just talk about this one," he gestured to the wristband that Alex had seen him dissecting earlier. Violet walked over to him as Kara stepped forward until she was shoulder to shoulder with Alex.

"You ok?" Kara murmured, "Kind of expected a bigger reaction out of the both of you."

" _She's adopted_ ," Alex whispered. "No back-in-time genetic nightmare. Whatever timeline results in her could still be totally in tact."

"Alex! That's amazing!" Kara grinned, her response a little louder than the whisper she had been going for. Violet glanced in their direction, and Kara and Alex quieted as they made their way over to her and Winn.

"Anyway, I've never had something this… inaccessible. Whatever it does, I can't get into it. And that's not something I acknowledge lightly. I've tried connecting it to every piece of equipment, every server, and every network. It's just… maybe a little too far ahead of my capabilities." Winn ran his hand through his hair, not one to freely admit defeat. But two decades of unknown technological advancement was probably an understandable roadblock.

Violet frowned, keeping her distance. "It was just a tracker. My mom fitted me with it after Aunt Kara went missing. Told me never to take it off, so even when she was gone… I didn't. It made it feel like she was still there. It seemed stupid at the time, but then the agents that came to find me, to protect me. They said it was how they knew where I was. Do you think that's how I got here?"

"I'll be honest, it's the only thing that makes any sense. I mean what else did you even have on you when you got here? I've got… a necklace, a few weapons, a canteen, and the bag you "arrived with"," he supplied the air quotes himself, as if there was any other way to do it, "had some survival gear, and… a bunch of hair bands?"

"Do you know how hard it is to find a hair tie during the apocalypse? Trust me, you find one you keep it." Violet interjected. Kara raised her eyebrows as she and Alex both nodded in appreciation. _Kid knows what she's talking about. Good head on her shoulders obviously._

"Right. Hair ties. Anyway. Nothing that looks like it would be even remotely capable of sending a human being twenty years in the past. My guess is your mom put that together specifically for the purpose of getting you here, and then told you it was just a tracker." Winn started going through some report on his tablet and began pacing as he murmured to himself. Violet stayed put.

Alex glanced back at Kara and then moved to Violet, softly placing her hand on her elbow. "Violet? You alright? You look a little… lost."

"I'm fine. It's just… if that thing is what sent me back, then my mom was planning this for years. And never told me. Every conversation was theoretical and hypothetical and not at all her asking me 'oh here how would you like to go back in time at the end of the world' and that just kind of feels like a significant part to leave out," Violet answered, becoming noticeably more rushed as she went on. Her thoughts, and probably her words, were a little jumbled. She couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. It wasn't exactly an heirloom, but it was one of the last things she had from her mother. The ulterior motive behind it stung a little.

Alex didn't know how to respond. Part of her felt like she needed to apologize, hell even she was annoyed at her (future) self for seemingly deceiving Violet like that. But it wasn't her that had done it, at least not yet, so an apology probably wasn't going to change anything.

"I just wish I could talk to her, so she could tell me why. And what the hell I'm supposed to do. But I can't. All I have is," Violet reached for the 'apparently-much-more-than-just-a-tracker' that she'd been eyeing, "this."

The second Violet's hand connected with the band, a little blue light came on and a translucent image flashed above her. Violet immediately dropped it as Alex pulled her back. Winn whipped around, "What happened, what did you do? What was that?"

"I – I don't know! It's never done that before, it's never done anything before!" Violet was not freaking out; she told herself that in an effort to stop herself from freaking out. She knew that image, a face. It was only there, hovering, for an instant, but she knew it. And she was doing everything she could to try not to dwell on it.

"Pick it up again!" Winn grabbed her hand excitedly, "I haven't been able to get it to do anything all day but you touched in and turned it on or something! You have to do it again!"

Violet pulled away, shaking herself free of both Winn and Alex, mind racing as she turned back to face them. "Winn, stop," Alex placed her arm out to prevent him from following Violet. "Give her a second, just let her breathe." She watched Violet with growing concern, as she was looking a lot like she had when Kara came at her with questions about the Dominators earlier. It was starting to seem to her that maybe her kid and a penchant for panic attacks.

Much to her own relief, Violet was able to calm down quickly. With some space and some air and some quiet the wave passed and Violet took a deep breath before raising her head to face Winn. "I don't know what it did, or how it happened, but I've been wearing it for years and it's never done anything like that. So whatever triggered it, it wasn't me. You're welcome to keep pulling it apart, but I don't want anything to do with it." With that, Violet turned and walked out.

"Wait, Violet," Winn started to follow, only to be stopped by both Kara and Alex. "Guys, you don't understand, she doesn't understand! Obviously there's a reason that it responded to her, I just need her to do it again so we can finally start to figure out what it can do!"

"No, Winn _you_ don't understand," Kara interrupted before Alex had a chance. "Did you see her face? Whatever it did, it freaked her out. Let's just give her some time." Alex smiled at Kara, grateful that she seemed to get it so immediately.

"Ok. Ok I'll leave it alone. But at some point we're going to have to keep going on this," Winn put his hands up and stepped back. He made his way back to the wristband and picked it up to reexamine it. "Maybe it responded to a fingerprint? Or her DNA? Alex, maybe it'll respond to yours too, we started running a DNA match for you guys as soon as J'onn told us she said she was your daughter. Maybe the sequencing will be close enough to work for you too."

"It won't match, she told me she's adopted."

"Well crap. I mean, not crap for you. I guess that means the whole 'erase the kid from the timeline' scenario is way less likely. So that's great for that. But not so great for this," Winn hunched himself over the wristband, back to work.

"Alex. We have to go find her," Kara whispered.

"Shit."

* * *

Alex and Kara briskly made their way into J'onn's office. He looked up, meeting the worry on their faces and preparing himself for the worst.

"What now," he stood up.

"It's nothing horrible. Violet took off, we just need a more private security access point so we can track her down," Kara explained as Alex slid into his chair and pulled up the security feed for the lab from 15 minutes ago. She, Kara, and J'onn watched as the feed flickered ever so slightly and Violet jumped. A couple minutes in they were able to start tracking her movements from the moment she stepped out of the lab.

"Do we have any idea what that was?" J'onn asked.

"Winn's working on it," Alex answered shortly, far more focused on Violet making her way through the base. "Where the hell is she going?" she whispered to herself.

J'onn watched as Violet turned a corner, "there's not much down that hallway; a couple bunk rooms, training rooms, the locker room, and roof access all the way at the end. We'll split up and each take a couple rooms. I expect that one person finding her will go over better than everyone cornering her." Logical. Compassionate. Precise. Very much J'onn J'onzz, thankfully, because no one else was really feeling like themselves at the moment. Alex nodded in agreement, and the three of them headed out.


	9. Chapter 9

J'onn made his way up to the roof. He had already checked the last bunkroom on the right, and Alex and Kara were still looking through the rest of the rooms down the quiet hallway. As he opened the door that led out to the star-lit helipad, he immediately spotted Violet's silhouette. She was just standing in the center of the roof, letting the wind whip around her, tendrils of hair slipping from the messy bun she had it up in and dancing around her face. "Roof. I've got her, wait inside," J'onn whispered under his breath, knowing that Kara was on high alert and would undoubtedly hear him.

"Violet." J'onn started towards her with calculated hesitation. He certainly didn't expect her to do anything stupid, but he couldn't exactly say what he _did_ expect, so a cautious approach seemed like the way to go.

"I'm fine. Sorry, I just needed some air. This used to be one of my favorite spots. The wind and the birds. And the quiet. Just the sounds of the city, but even that sounds so far away from up here. Only thing that makes it better is when the sun starts to set. Never thought I'd be up here again." Violet started with the apology, and the rest just spilled out, like she'd been holding on to so much that something had to give. Talking to Alex was one thing, but she was a little overbearing. Understandably so, but still overbearing. When she had talked to J'onn earlier he was calm and collected, and had just kind of let her… talk. They didn't get very far between the interrogating and the arrival of Kara and Alex, but she knew she felt comfortable around J'onn.

"You know your way around the base," J'onn stated factually. Obviously it wasn't taking much to get Violet to open up, so he figured he'd offer up some 'jumping off points' and let her take it from there. No questions, no scolding. He followed slowly as Violet made her way to the edge of the roof and leaned her elbows against the railing.

"I practically lived here for about a year. Aunt Kara disappeared and my mom kind of put me on lockdown. Turned one of those bunks into a glorified dorm room, this was one of the few places on base that wasn't under crazy surveillance. Felt like my own little personal escape. But when National City fell everything was gone, and the roof at my grandparent's house in Midvale wasn't exactly the same. I wasn't even thinking about missing it, I just… I never thought I'd see it again and after the thing in the lab… maybe a little familiarity is nice." Violet just kept going. It was like she couldn't stop. She just wanted someone to know her without having to face the fact that they… didn't.

"The lab. I saw some of the footage. That something happened when you handled the tech that Agent Schott was analyzing. Looked rather jarring." Factual. Jumping off point. If Violet didn't want to discuss it she was welcome to change the subject—

"My mom." A whisper.

"Your mom?"

"The face that flickered. It was a split second, but it was my mom's face, looked like a hologram," Violet repeated, not much louder. "Which means," Violet sighed, turned and looked J'onn in the face, "there's probably a message. I'll see her face. And hear her voice. And I've been trying to push those things as far from my mind as possible for a long time."

"Hologram. Standard form of communication in twenty years?" J'onn asked. It didn't sound particularly far-fetched, and Violet seemed well versed.

A smile crept onto Violet's face, "Very standard. Most communication was hologram based before things fell apart. My mom hated it, said there was no reason for visual communications and all it did was force people to wear pants to talk to anyone."

J'onn shook his head, "I can picture that exact conversation, I'm sure. Any idea why the hologram only appeared for you?" Hopefully they could ease back into the exchange of information that might lead to some results. And while Violet didn't exactly shut down, the smile that had been making it's way back disappeared almost immediately.

"No clue. I told Winn, it's never done that before. I have no idea why it suddenly woke up." Violet was appreciative for the little distraction, but was fully aware that this was the important issue and that J'onn would eventually come back to it. "I told him I didn't want anything to do with it," Violet said sharply, staring back into the city.

"I get the feeling that's not entirely true." J'onn crossed his arms and leaned back into the railing, "You may be suppressing your feelings surrounding your mother, but do you really want to pass up a chance to see what she has to say? And if Agent Schott figures out a way to get that hologram back… do you really want to not be there if he can get that message to play?" J'onn waited patiently as a series of changing emotions played across Violet's face, settling on a pained frown.

"No. That sounds even worse." She had just kind of assumed that no one else would be able to get anything out of the wristband. But if anyone could… "We should go back. You're coming, right?"

"Of course." J'onn and Violet made their way across the roof and headed back downstairs. To no one's surprise, both Kara and Alex were waiting at the other end of the hallway, close enough to be available if needed, but far enough to give Violet her privacy.

"You ok kid?" Alex asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Violet met her gaze and smiled, ever so slightly, "I'm going back to the lab. Figured I'd make Winn's day and get the wristband to do its thing again." Right on cue, Kara and Alex stood and followed behind Violet and J'onn, different versions of the same question playing on all their minds; _what were they going to find on that wristband, and what did it mean for Violet?_


	10. Chapter 10

Winn eyed the group as they came into view through the glass walls of the lab. He'd been clearly warned to let his analysis take a back seat to Violet's needs, which was completely fine, just not the easiest or most natural way for his mind to work. He was focused on a problem, and that was all he could think about. He had been trying to come up with ways to subtly convince Violet to help him out, but was pretty sure he couldn't get away with any of them without Alex inflicting some form of physical pain. Regardless, he found himself running through his list of possible persuasions in his head as Violet and company entered the lab.

"Alright Winn, give me the wristband," Violet said, her voice quiet but clear.

 _Oh thank god, because none of those ideas were going to work. And I was probably going to end up seriously injured,_ Winn thought to himself, relieved. He instantly grinned ear to ear and quickly started unhooking the band from all the devices that he'd been trying to get into it with. "I knew you'd come around, this is going to be a huge breakthrough."

J'onn stood across from Violet; he could hear her heart pounding. It didn't take any of his Martian abilities to know what she was thinking. She was radiating anxiety and apprehension, taking her time as Winn waited for her to make a move towards the device. "There's no rush Violet, and we can stop this whenever you like," J'onn offered, voice soft and low. She closed her eyes or a moment, then looked to him, seeming to find comfort in his strong, subtle smile and quick nod of encouragement.

Kara nudged Alex softly as they watched the two with fascination, reveling in the unspoken trust that J'onn had obviously fostered. The fact that he already so clearly cared for Violet made Alex immensely proud of her surrogate father. It had taken him a little while to (outwardly) warm up to Kara when she had first arrived at the D.E.O., but with Violet it was nearly instantaneous once they had found out who she was. She seemed to have that effect on people, which warmed Alex's heart in a way she couldn't begin to describe.

Violet chewed on her lip and inhaled slowly to steady herself as Winn passed it over to her; once again, an instant response.

" _Violet_." Violet looked up at her mother's face, smiling down on her. Her heart ached with an involuntary quiver and she had to consciously make the decision to take another breath. J'onn watched Violet carefully. He had known what was coming, but had not had a chance to prep anyone else, and they were all justifiably preoccupied.

" _If you're watching this, then that means there are a few things going on, but most importantly, it means you made it back. Specifically back to the D.E.O. It also means that earth is no longer capable of sustaining humanity. This tracker links up to whatever remaining satellites are in the atmosphere, and has an algorithm that can predict planetary sustainability. Long story short, if something happens to drop our chances of survival below 10%, it'll be triggered to pull you back. I can only hope that you've found people you can trust within the D.E.O., I expect you'll run into some familiar faces_. _And don't worry, after I explain everything I'll be including instructions that can walk someone through reversing the device and getting you back where you belong._ "

Alex stared up at herself, slack jawed and dumbfounded. First things first, she was obviously still a badass. That was a hell of a lot of tech to fit into a little wristband, and yet somehow she did it. Was going to do it? Whatever. Second of all… let's be real there was no second of all, not one that she could put words to. This was her. Her from the future. Ashen face ( _or maybe that's how holograms looked?_ ), tired eyes, worry lines across her forehead, and what looked suspiciously like her very own crinkle… it was like watching a video of herself that she had no recollection of recording. Like morning after evidence from a blackout drunk night out. That eerie juxtaposition between _that's me I should know this speech_ and _I have no idea what this is_. And the added complexity of _that's not going to be me for 15 years which is somehow an actual reality_. Alex did her best to follow, but it was like her brain was fighting to even comprehend the words that were coming out of 'her' mouth.

" _I need you to find a way to get this message to J'onn J'onzz and myself. I know how to stop this from happening, and it all rests on you getting this information to them. This communiqué is set to become active upon linking up with an obsolete D.E.O. satellite feed and coming into contact with your DNA_."

Winn huffed and looked around defiantly, "obsolete my ass, this is a state of the art—" he stopped mid-sentence once he noticed J'onn staring him down.

" _In 2022 the Dominators arrived here on earth and made their presence known. We responded, forcefully. We were able to defeat them, but each time they left it wasn't long until they returned — in greater numbers and with more firepower than before. And every time they were much more resilient. Ultimately we were able to defeat them yet again, but a couple years ago they launched a massive attack. We've never seen anything like it. The world has had to come together to resist, but things are changing. Fast._ "

Alex shuddered as she pictured that landscape in her mind and automatically looked over to Violet. What she found was a fallen face watching intently with tears in her eyes. She reached down and squeezed her hand, careful not to come on too strong and ready to back off if Violet seemed at all unreceptive. The last thing she wanted was for her to bolt again. To her relief, Violet returned the gesture; she was doing her best not to drown in the moment and was grateful for the anchor. Alex slowly turned back to her own hovering face, torn between Violet and the hologram. To her — and the rest of her D.E.O. friends and family — this message was chock full of information. But to Violet? She could only imagine the painful memories that were surfacing.

 _"At this point, the D.E.O. is being targeted. Along with most of the other national and international institutions that have been put in place to facilitate alien relations. The Dominators… they're more violent this time. More aggressive. They're cutting off our alien support systems and crippling us at every turn. Right now, Kara_ — _Kara is missing. She disappeared a few weeks ago."_

Alex heard Kara draw a sharp breath behind her, and instinctively reached her free hand back to grab hers. After this morning she could personally attest that hearing someone discuss your... demise… definitely had a certain distressing effect on you.

 _"We don't have confirmation either way, about what happened to her. But whatever it is… I think we figured out why. Which means we might be able to prevent it."_


	11. Chapter 11

Violet fiddled with the lid on the water bottle that J'onn had handed her. She watched as he, Alex, Kara, and Winn whispered to each other, off by themselves. They were all quite understanding when she'd put down the wristband and asked to take a break, but they were still very much focused on what they'd learned so far.

Violet quietly stood up and slipped out of the lab. The footprint of the D.E.O. was the same, so she knew exactly where she was headed, but it was definitely a little strange wandering around the outdated facility. The last time she'd stepped foot in this building it had looked much different.

As she made her way through the D.E.O., her mind wandered back to the hologram. Her mother's words replaying over and over in her head. Most of what she said Violet had heard before. But hearing it now, in her mom's voice, with those sad eyes that she remembered so clearly? There was something very disconcerting about recalling the conversations they'd had years ago versus seeing the whole truth come out of her dead mom's mouth right in front of her. While standing next to her un-dead mom from twenty years ago. There really wasn't anything about this situation that wasn't insane and uncomfortable. Violet slipped into an empty office and shut the door behind her.

Someday this office would belong to an agent that would be in charge of protecting her. A handler of sorts, someone that Violet would be able to count on. But right now it was just another unused, secluded space that held no meaning for anyone. Luckily, the one 'good' thing to come out of the apocalypse was that she had gotten much better at adapting. This was just something else she was going to have to adapt to.

* * *

Alex was doing her best to wait patiently for Violet to return, but had glanced down at her watch at least a dozen times in the last five minutes alone. She had seen her duck out of the lab, probably assuming everyone was too preoccupied to notice, but there was something about having Violet around that had Alex on high alert. It was like she was somehow subconsciously aware of every move Violet made. She couldn't explain it.

"I'm sure she'll be back in a minute," Kara murmured to her, stepping back from the extremely in depth conversation that Winn and J'onn were still having.

"You saw her leave too?"

"Of course. But you didn't say anything or go after her, so I didn't either."

Alex smiled; it was just like Kara to know exactly where her head was at. "She's been on her own for a while, and it's not like she's some little kid. I just don't want to overstep. If she needs a minute, she should be allowed to go and take one. The last thing I want to do is make her feel like I'm smothering her." Even as the words left her mouth, Alex couldn't help but feel like it was less of an explanation and more like she was trying to convince herself. It had taken everything she had not to follow Violet the second she saw her heading towards the door. But, she had told herself, Violet was calm and composed; unlike the last time she took off. Her actions looked deliberate, not frenzied, it didn't seem like she was just running from something.

Kara nodded in agreement, understanding where Alex was coming from. She wanted nothing more than to just follow Violet around and get to know everything about her… but she also had a very real memory of what it was like to be ripped from everything you knew and dropped into a world that you knew nothing about. She remembered that feeling of emptiness and the overwhelming sense that she was completely alone.

Alex caught movement out of the corner of her eye and her head snapped up to see Violet slowly making her way back to the lab. She forced herself to stay rooted where she was and let Violet come to her.

"Hey kid. You ok?" Alex softly asked as Violet came closer. She didn't _look_ any worse for the wear, but external calm didn't always mean there wasn't internal freakout.

Small smile, a little forced. "Yeah. Didn't mean to worry anyone, just needed to get my bearings a little," Violet answered. Kara smiled at her, and Alex briefly looked to her before responding.

"Of course. Look, I was thinking maybe we should be done for the night? It's late, and I'm sure you're probably exhausted and hungry and I was thinking that maybe you could come home with me—"

"No." Violet replied immediately.

"No? Sorry, I don't… you mean you want to keep going?" Alex faltered, a little taken aback by Violet's instantaneous reaction.

"Violet we don't have to do all of this tonight, its completely fine to come back to it in the morning," Kara stepped in and lightly placed her hand on Violet's back. J'onn and Winn had quieted and were watching the women closely, clearly sensing a shift in the atmosphere of the room.

"It's not that, I'm fine with taking a break, I just… maybe I shouldn't leave the D.E.O.? I don't think it's a good idea." Violet tried to choose her words carefully, hoping she could get away with convincing everyone that she was just being cautious.

"Violet you're not a prisoner. I realize that everything feels like a big unknown right now, but I don't see any reason that you shouldn't be able to leave the premises. Especially since you'll be with an active agent," J'onn interjected as he made his way over to her. Alex was quiet; it definitely hurt a little to think that Violet would rather stay within the sterile walls of the D.E.O. than spend the night at her place. She knew it was a little premature, but there was a part of her that had already begun planning a 'sleepover' evening. Maybe have some pizza, put on a movie, have some ice cream and stay up and talk. It all felt pretty trivial considering the rest of what was going on, but she couldn't help but map out an evening with her daughter in her mind.

"I just don't want to get in the way. And it's probably safer for everyone if I stay here, interact with as few people as possible," Violet continued to make excuses, quickly coming up with more in her head in case anyone pushed her. Kara looked at Alex's face, trying to figure out if stepping in would be at all beneficial. Alex never met her gaze, wounded eyes too focused on Violet.

"You know, I have a little more space than Alex. And I could fly you there, so you wouldn't have to talk to anyone else." Kara slowly proposed, watching both Violet and Alex for a reaction. Alex glanced at her, but kept her feelings on the matter to herself.

Violet furrowed her brow and looked down as she thought it over. It certainly wouldn't be as bad as staying with her mo— with Alex. And she had a feeling that at some point her excuses were going to become pretty flimsy. "Ok. But just for tonight."

Alex's eyes closed and she felt her heart break. Violet was fine to stay with Kara, but not with her. Did she do something? She didn't think she did anything. Maybe seeing the hologram of her future self had made Violet rethink the way she felt about her? She took a quick but full breath in through her nose and forced herself to open her eyes and compose herself. What mattered was that Violet was going to be safe and close and more comfortable than she would have if she'd decided to stay in one of the D.E.O.'s communal bunkrooms. She felt a pang of jealousy that Kara would get to spend some more time with her, but if this was the way it needed to be… then she would make herself ok with it.


	12. Chapter 12

Kara and Violet arrived at her apartment in silence. Violet had seemed especially reserved since they'd left the D.E.O., and Kara didn't feel comfortable pushing her to open up just yet. Better to let her get settled in before prying.

"Feel free to make yourself at home. I'll make up the bed for you and stay on the couch tonight, so you can sort of have your own space," Kara started to make her way over to her bed to change out the sheets as Violet stopped her.

"You don't have to do that, I don't want to put you out," Violet hurried.

"Violet," Kara smiled, "when was the last time you slept in a bed? Or took a hot shower?" She watched Violet's eyes brighten at the word 'shower' – she'd wondered if that might be the thing to win her over. "You're sleeping in a real bed tonight, not on a couch. And while you go shower I'll call around and get some food over here and we can have dinner. I'm thinking it's about time you got to appreciate the little bit of normalcy that comes with going back in time."

"The upside to leaving the apocalypse?" Violet smirked. She was definitely looking forward to hot running water and real food.

"Exactly. The bathroom's through there, there's clean towels behind the door. Any dinner requests? Chinese? Italian?" Kara pulled out her phone, ready to dial.

"Um. Either? I haven't exactly had options in a while, so whatever sounds good to you is fine," Violet answered, already heading down the hall. She was definitely focused.

"Chinese it is. I'll let you know when it gets here, but take your time," Kara called out to the sound of a door closing. After waiting a few seconds to hear running water she unlocked her phone and went into her speed dial list. The phone picked up on the first ring.

" _Kara? Is she ok?_ " Alex's voice came through instantly with an obvious air of concern.

"Yeah, she's fine, everything is fine. She's getting cleaned up and I'm ordering some dinner. I just… wanted to check on you. Make sure you're ok? And that I didn't overstep? We all left pretty quickly but I know this isn't exactly the way you were expecting the night to go," Kara hesitated, not entirely sure how Alex was going to respond.

" _Oh Kara, of course you didn't overstep. I wish she felt like she could stand to be in the same room as me, but that's not your fault. She's with family, and she's safe. That's what matters. Just keep an eye on her for me ok? And please call me if she needs anything?_ "

"I will. Why don't you call Maggie? Maybe have her come over so you're not alone?" Kara hoped the suggestion was a helpful one. The last thing Alex needed was to sit in an empty apartment and obsess over what might be going on in Violet's head. Maggie would be a good distraction.

" _Maybe. Text me later? And I'll see you both at the D.E.O. first thing in the morning?_ "

"I will. I love you Alex, we'll see you tomorrow."

" _Love you too Kara, and thanks for being there for her._ "

"Of course. She _is_ my niece after all." Kara smiled into the phone and heard a quiet laugh from Alex. Once she hung up she really did call for Chinese; lo mein, egg rolls, lots of pot stickers, and a smattering of other things in case Violet was pickier than she had let on. She changed the sheets on the bed, pulled some sweats out of a drawer, and left them outside the bathroom door for Violet to change into. "Violet? There's some clean clothes out here when you're done. We'll wash your clothes tonight so you can have them for tomorrow. And food should be here in about 20."

"Thanks, I'll be out in a bit," Violet answered, her voice slightly raised so Kara could hear her over the shower. Holy shit did it feel good. Heat and steam and cleanliness. And shampoo. Who knew you could miss shampoo? There was a growing part of her that just wanted to stay and let the water run over her shoulders indefinitely.

Once Violet was good and ready, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She wiped the steam off a corner of the mirror and looked at herself. She felt like she looked older than she remembered. And thinner. And her hair was longer. Come to think of it… when was the last time she'd actually seen herself? She dried off slowly and reached out the door to grab the clothes that Kara had left her. The cool air from the hallway snuck into the bathroom as she shut the door behind her and slipped into Kara's sweats. After running a towel through her hair, she stepped out and made her way over to the living room where Kara was settled on the couch.

"Good?" She asked as she smiled up at Violet.

"Yeah. I may have forgotten what it felt like to actually take a real shower," she grinned in response and plopped herself down on the other side of the couch. There was a knock on the door and Violet tensed up for a second as Kara squinted and looked through the front door.

"That's just dinner. Hang on a sec."

Kara headed to the door, thanked the delivery guy, and grabbed some napkins on her way back to the couch. She pulled everything out of the bag, watched as Violet started looking through everything, and handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Go nuts."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Violet already had an eggroll on the way to her mouth. Kara followed suit and the two of them ate in silence for a few minutes.

"So. Can I ask you something?" Kara swallowed her eighth pot sticker and watched as Violet eyed her.

"I guess. Do I have to stop eating?"

"Nope. Stuff your face. I was just wondering… why did you come with me? Why was that ok but not Alex?" She was trying not to sound accusatory or confrontational, but she had seen the hurt on her sister's face and needed to get to the bottom of Violets uncertainties.

Violet's chewing slowed as she looked down. She didn't expect that her excuses were going to hold up one on one, so she gave herself a second to pull the truth together before answering. "It's like seeing a ghost," she murmured. "I haven't seen my mom in a long time, and when I did… she didn't look like that. She was broken and scared and every time I see her now – _here_ – that's all I can think about."

"But not me."

"We never knew exactly what happened to you… and you're Supergirl, there was always a tiny part of me that thought I might see you again anyway," Violet shrugged.

"I guess that's fair…"

Violet took another second. "And the more I spend time with her now the worse it's going to be when they figure out how to get me back there. I already lost my mom, in more ways than one." Violet's explanation came spilling out, "I don't want to get too close to her here, I have no idea if she'll be there when I get back, or _how_ she'll be and I don't think I can lose her again."

There it was. Kara had had a feeling that was where they were going to end up.

"Trust me, I know what you mean. I know what that feels like, and it's awful. Last year I was… tricked… into thinking I was back on Krypton. My parents were there, and we were happy. And when Alex was finally able to pull me out and I realized it was all gone…" Kara stopped. She hated reliving that moment.

"Exactly. I don't think I can do that." Violet hadn't heard this story before, but it sounded like Kara knew first hand what she was trying to avoid.

"That's the thing though, this isn't a trick. What if you get back and she's alive? What if we fix everything and everyone survives? What if you don't have to lose her at all?" _What if you're pushing her away to protect yourself, and all you accomplish is hurting her?_ Kara would never say that out loud, but couldn't stop herself from putting Alex first. She had to find a way to smooth things over with Violet, for her sister's sake.

"That's a lot of what if's. 'What if' I pick the wrong one to focus on and believe… and then I get back and she's still gone."

"Then this is like a second chance to spend time with her. If you get back to 2038 and for some reason she isn't there… are you going to regret not taking advantage of the time you could have had with her?"

Silence.

"Violet, I can't tell you what the right thing to do here is. But there's no way to know what might be waiting for you when you get back. The only thing we know for sure is where things stand right now. And right now, you have someone who really wants to get to know you." Kara decided that was her closing argument. Until she knew exactly how stubborn Violet was she was going to assume that being raised by Alex – as stubborn as _she_ was – had probably had a significant influence on her. Which would mean the more she pushed the more Violet would dig her heels in.

Violet sat quietly and played with the chopsticks in her hands. She hadn't really thought of it like that, like a second chance. She just knew that she was used to pain and loss, and that the best way to avoid it was to expect the worst and protect against it. That way anything else was a welcome surprise. But in this case… maybe Kara was right. Maybe planning for disappointment was the worse option.


	13. Chapter 13

Alex pulled her knee up to her chin and watched the flames as they danced softly around her fireplace. It was more for ambiance than anything; it wasn't like it was actually cold enough for a fire. But Alex wasn't exactly feeling warm and fuzzy at the moment, so the fire was supposed to be helping. In reality she was pretty much just staring through it, lost in her thoughts. She'd wedged herself into the corner of the couch and had been thinking – _brooding_ – for a while now. She kept seeing Violet's face in her mind when she turned her down. That intense, automatic reaction to the idea of even possibly staying with her that night. Alex felt a slight vibration under her arm and the mental image of Violet's face disappeared as she shook off the emptiness and felt around for her phone.

 _Talked w Violet, understand what's going on. Come by for breakfast in the morning?_ Alex reread Kara's text a few times and felt some of her heartache dissipate. Of course Kara would have tried to get through to Violet, and whatever was going on with her… Alex knew for a fact that there were few people on this planet better equipped to be there and offer unwavering support than her little sister.

 _Absolutely. Bear claws and donuts. Love you._ Alex smiled to herself as she hit send.

"Now that's more like it Danvers, I haven't seen you smile all night," Maggie made her way over from the kitchen and handed Alex a bowl as she threw a leg over the back of the couch and climbed over to settle in next to her.

Alex turned to face her, lingering on the way Maggie's eyes crinkled and her whole face lit up when she smiled. She tossed a part of her blanket over Maggie and adjusted herself as she felt Maggie's feet slip under her leg.

Alex looked in her bowl suspiciously, "This isn't your weird vegan ice cream, is it?"

"Mine is. Yours is not. The last thing we need is for you to whine about it all night. Even though it's perfectly fine and you probably wouldn't have even noticed."

"Gross. No chance. I know real ice cream when I see it."

"Sure Danvers. At some point I'll get you to admit it's not that bad," Maggie took a bite and watched as Alex did the same, the lightest of smiles playing across her face. "Who texted? You're in a better mood all of a sudden, get some good news?" Alex swallowed slowly and tried to figure out exactly how truthful she could be when it came to Violet…

"Yeah, you could say that. I got a message from Kara; we have some… family in town. She wanted to stay with Kara tonight, but it looks like we're all going to do breakfast in the morning so I'll get to spend a little time with her too." It wasn't exactly a _lie_ , but Alex still couldn't bring herself to look Maggie in the eye…

"Oh yeah? I didn't know you guys had family here," Maggie rested her spoon in her bowl, suddenly interested. Alex didn't talk a whole lot about her family – aside from the nonstop talk about Kara and her parents of course. It was cute how much she loved them. But she hadn't really ever mentioned extended family before tonight.

"Mhm. My… cousin. Violet. She showed up at the D.E.O. today, she hasn't seen us in a long time. I wanted to um, catch up. But that'll have to wait until tomorrow." Alex did her best not to sound upset about Violet's decision (though she was doing a terrible job and she knew it), and to make the whole thing seem as casual and un-life-changing as possible. 'My cousin stopped in for a visit' was an easier conversation than 'my daughter from 20 years in the future showed up to try and prevent complete planetary annihilation'. And if all went according to plan then Violet would only be there for a few days and then everything would be back on track. Which meant that Alex would have to find a way to explain why her sudden cousin suddenly… wasn't. Crap. Maybe she didn't think this through…

"Hey. Earth to Alex," Maggie nudged her with her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hm? Sorry, just savoring my _real_ ice cream," Alex recovered quickly.

"Uh huh. Furrowed brow, deep in thought, oblivious to everything else. Those don't seem like they go with ice cream feelings," Maggie smirked at her.

"Ok, fair. I was just thinking… you know how sometimes you meet— I mean, _see_ someone and you feel like you barely know them? Even though you're supposed to?" _How do you ask for advice about a situation you can't discuss?_ Alex subtly watched Maggie out of the corner of her eye, curious to see how she responded.

"You mean your cousin? You said you haven't seen her in a while, I'm sure she's changed a lot… She could be a completely different person now," Maggie showed absolutely no sign of suspicion, there was no indication that she found Alex's question at all odd. "If you guys haven't been in touch then you probably _don't_ know her. Not really."

"Yeah. I just… she's family. She shouldn't be a stranger. There should be a connection, you know? She should _want_ there to be a connection. But when I offered to let here stay here tonight… she wanted nothing to do with it and picked Kara."

"Does she know about Kara?"

"Does she… you mean as Supergirl? I mean yeah, she knows," Alex frowned, not entirely sure why that mattered.

"Uh huh. And is she older than you guys? Or younger."

"Younger," Alex paused briefly, "like, nineteen."

Maggie grinned, "Danvers. Of course she wanted to stay with Kara tonight. She's practically a baby, and she has a cool older cousin that's a famous caped superhero. That's got to be pretty exciting, but as soon as the novelty wears off and she sees that Kara isn't the only superhero in the family? I'm sure she'll be begging to spend time with you." _Oh Maggie if only you knew,_ Alex nodded ever so slightly, eyebrows raised in forced nonchalance, as she shoved her spoon back in her mouth to avoid answering. She could pretend that made sense, it's not like she could really get into why Maggie's logic wasn't applicable here.

"Look, go to breakfast tomorrow, spend time with them both, and then take her shooting. Let her play with a gun, she'll love you," Maggie teased as she finished off her last bit of ice cream.

"You can't just win everyone over with guns, Sawyer," Alex raised an eyebrow and attempted to suppress a smile.

"Yeah, sorry, but in my experience, you absolutely can."

Alex dropped her mock seriousness, grinned and leaned over to drop a kiss onto Maggie's cheek. She didn't even know what was going on and was still somehow able to make everything better. Maggie looked up at her and pulled her face close to reciprocate.

"Mmm. And on that note, I think it's about time we head to bed…" Maggie murmured, sly smile appearing underneath their kiss.

"Definitely," Alex whispered. In an instant, they were off the couch and headed across the floor towards the bedroom, two empty bowls sitting in front of the fire, happily abandoned and forgotten.


	14. Chapter 14

Alex woke up early, itching to start her day. After Maggie had fallen asleep, she'd tossed and turned through most of the night, unable to quiet her mind. She and Kara had texted back and forth for a while, and now that she had a better understanding of how Violet had been thinking she just wanted to fix it, if that was even possible.

Alex slipped out of bed but hesitated and turned as she made her way to the closet. She watched Maggie shift and murmur something to herself in her sleep and she felt her heart melt. There was sunlight streaming in through the window, but the warmth she was feeling was entirely from within. Alex frequently stopped herself and just reveled in the fact that Maggie was with her, had chosen her, and was such an unexpectedly amazing fit into every facet of her life. Sometimes she still couldn't believe how different her life was from a year ago – and that was _before_ the surprise kid that had been dropped in her lap yesterday. She slipped into some casual D.E.O. gear without taking her eyes off of the woman sprawled out in her bed. She was pretty sure sleeping people were supposed to snore, or have drool leaking out of the side of their mouth, or just straight up have an ugly sleep face. But Maggie? Somehow she was still perfect.

And of course thinking about how perfect Maggie was just made Alex want to kick herself even more; she hated that she'd lied to her last night. About Violet. There was just so much complexity wrapped up in layers of unanswerable questions; one question specifically. And while she hadn't exactly asked Violet outright who her other mother was, it certainly wasn't something that she'd offered up on her own. Was it presumptive to think that she and Maggie were in a serious enough relationship that she could wonder if Violet might be hers too? Could she be depriving Maggie of the very same opportunity that she had been so upset to have lost out on herself? The opportunity to spend time with her daughter?

Alex tried not to dwell on that. Violet was a visitor, she wasn't even going to be here long enough for Alex to figure out if that kind of conversation with Maggie would be helpful or harmful. They hadn't exactly talked about some of the more serious relationship questions yet; like marriage, or future kids, or _literal_ future kids… she told herself it wasn't worth risking the potential conflict just to be honest about something she couldn't explain.

Alex did her best to push the unease from her mind as she made her way through the apartment, dropped a little note on the counter for Maggie about dinner that night, and set the coffee pot to brew as she silently slipped out the door.

* * *

Alex stopped just outside Kara's apartment door, gathering her thoughts. She had practically been on autopilot the entire drive over, leaving her mind free to focus on other things. Like what Kara and Violet had talked about the night before, and whether it was enough to convince Violet that she could maybe start to let her in a little. She had formulated a flawless plan while she'd waited on her donuts; she would let Violet take the lead and come to her, no matter how counterintuitive it felt. She wouldn't push, she wouldn't pry, she would just be the cool, laid back, younger version of however Violet remembered her. Not a mom, not a ghost, just there for her in whatever capacity she could handle.

Alex squared her shoulders, shifted her box of donuts, and slowly raised a loose fist to knock. Kara opened the door before her knuckles even connected with the door. "Hey! You've been standing out here for like five minutes, you ok?" Kara asked quietly.

"I, yeah of course. Just… preparing," Alex shook off her apprehension and smiled at her sister. She stepped tentatively into the apartment and looked around for Violet.

"She's out on the balcony, but she's been waiting for you to get here. She seems a lot less… stressed… today. Probably thanks to some Aunt Kara magic," Kara grinned, winked, and snatched the box of donuts out of her hands.

"Yeah? All you huh? That's good… I'll just… I'll just go and say hi," Alex responded as casually as she could feign. Which was futile considering she was already halfway to the balcony door, doing her best to ignore the fact that her big plan to let Violet come to her had already flown _very_ far out the window.

As Alex opened the door she spotted Violet in the corner, leaning into the railing with a mug in her hands, watching the city below. The morning breeze was soft and calm, bringing the slightest chill with it. Alex hesitated briefly as Violet looked up at her and stood up straight. Alex didn't even get a chance to open her mouth before Violet spoke up.

"Hi. Listen, I um. I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to push you away like that. Well," Violet frowned, "I did I guess. At the time. But I was wrong. Kara kind of made me look at this whole thing a little differently. Like maybe I don't have to just protect myself from feeling… things."

"Like pain. When you look at me. I know you and Kara talked, I'm so sorry that being around me is so complicated for you," Alex hated that Violet had such a hard time looking at her, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't get it. She rested her forearms on the edge of the balcony, and Violet relaxed and smiled to herself as she mirrored her.

"I kind of figured she would; you guys never really did secrets, even when it came to me. But yeah… she told me how much she would give to see her parents again, even just for a little while. Which is kind of what I've got right now, so. Second chance?"

And just like that, it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off Alex's shoulders, "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that," Alex breathed, smile spreading across her face, "but promise me that you'll be honest with me, ok? If you need me to back off, tell me, and I will." After hearing how Violet had been thinking last night she'd resigned herself to staying away so she didn't cause her any more anxiety. Which was ok, she could make herself live with taking a step back and letting Violet be. But now? Finding out that she didn't have to made it immensely clear how desperately she hadn't wanted to.

"Promise," Violet smiled back, and Alex couldn't help but take note of how genuine it was. It radiated from her eyes and her face and her whole self. There was nothing forced about it, which for Alex was even more significant than what Violet had said to her.

"Now, you and I better get in there before Kara eats every single donut in that box," Alex nudged Violet's shoulder with hers. She wanted nothing more than to just stay out here and bask in her kid's much more tranquil presence, but she was acutely aware of how quickly Kara could make her way through a couple dozen donuts. Violet laughed silently and looked down into her mug before straightening herself up and following Alex inside.

Kara, mouth full of bear claw, beamed as she watched Alex and Violet come through the door. She slid the box of remaining donuts across the counter as they both headed over. Violet hopped up onto a barstool and grabbed a donut before Kara pulled the box back towards her and took another three.

Violet took a bite, closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Mmm. You know, I don't think anyone should go this long without a donut. Cruel and unusual."

Alex watched Violet and grinned as she took a bite of her own. "You should try an apple fritter next, they're to die for."

"Those always were your favorite." Violet responded absentmindedly, relaxed and calm. Like talking about her past wasn't excruciating. Like her decision to focus on the positive aspects of this… adventure… might actually be possible.

Alex's heart nearly skipped a beat as she realized Violets eyes were still shining and she didn't seem to be losing herself in the memory. As much as she felt like celebrating, she decided not to call too much attention to it. "Good. Alien invasions and time travel is one thing, but a future where apple fritters aren't the greatest thing ever invented? Unfathomable."

Kara immediately stopped herself from taking another bite, "Um, hey, let's not be hasty here, bear claws –"

"Shut up, even your almighty bear claw pales in comparison to the apple fritter," Alex shot back as Violet giggled. _Giggled._ Alex let the sound wash over her, suddenly feeling like she understood what it meant to truly not have a care in the world. This little 'bubble breakfast' was perfect, Violet was perfect. And she was going to savor every second of it before they had to get back to work. "So. How was your night? Things here were a little more comfortable than the apocalypse, I assume?"

Violet raised her eyebrows in mock ecstasy, "Showers are amazing. Real food is amazing. Beds are amazing. And this donut? Amazing. If this is what it's like to take a vacation from the end of the world, then I have nothing but good things to say about it."


	15. Chapter 15

Alex, Kara, and Violet arrived at the D.E.O. much later than Alex would normally show up for work, but she didn't expect J'onn would take an issue with that today, considering. As great as their morning (and early afternoon) had been, they all knew they needed to get back to the matter at hand.

"Alright kid, you ready to do this?" Alex asked Violet as they all crossed the rotunda on their way up to the lab.

"Yeah I think so. Can't be any weirder than yesterday, right?" she answered, starting up the steps behind Kara.

J'onn met the three women at the top of the stairs, he'd clearly been awaiting their arrival. "Good, you're here. Winn's been holed up in the lab all night. How was… everyone else's night?"

Violet smiled at him, noting the caution in his voice towards the end. "It was good, we're all good. Had breakfast together this morning." J'onn returned the smile, but directed it more to Alex than anyone. She certainly appeared much happier than when Kara and Violet had left last night.

As they made their way into the lab J'onn cleared his throat loudly, which had an immediate effect on all present personnel, who quickly vacated. Winn reached a hand out and beckoned for them as soon as he saw them enter.

"So. Good news is I think I figured out a way to lock into the feed so we can extract and save all the data. We just have to get it back online first. When you pick it up I expect it'll start up exactly where we left off last night, with Kara's big *poof* and hologrAlex – which I am _definitely_ trademarking, by the way – about to tell us why. Buuut we also might actually have to sit through all that again. I don't exactly know for sure how this is going to play out so bear with me. I like to call this part of my job… _educated_ guess work."

Winn looked around as Alex raised an eyebrow and everyone (eventually) nodded in understanding. He turned on his heel and started fitting the wristband with wires that were hooked up to the very 'modified' looking supercomputer he'd set up behind him, somehow simultaneously taking careful time and flying through the process. A minute or two later he turned back, "ok, Violet. You're up."

Violet stepped forward, preparing herself. Before she touched the band she looked over her shoulder to Alex, who offered a reassuring smile and nodded to her. Violet returned the gesture, took a calming breath, and carefully picked up the, now incredibly intricate looking, contraption that surrounded the wristband. As soon as her contact moved from wiring to wristband, it woke up.

" _— be able to prevent it. We've been going through our history, initially trying to find a weakness for the Dominators, and we think we stumbled into something else,"_

"Ha! Exactly where we left off! Called it." Winn's face lit up as he gestured to future Alex's floating face. After instantaneous dirty looks from three out of four of his guests, he dropped his arm and quieted, "Right. Sorry."

" _We all remember Kara's trip to Earth-1 with Barry – well, some of us remember. Some of us weren't exactly invited."_

Kara whipped her head around and glared at Alex, "I _knew_ you were bitter about that!"

Alex glanced back, arms remaining unapologetically crossed, "I'm not _bitter_ , it's just… a phone call would have been nice, ok? 'Hey I'm leaving our universe be back soon,' something. Anything."

Violet rolled her eyes, she was not unfamiliar with this argument. "Do you guys need a minute? Or can we keep going?" Alex and Kara eyed each other in annoyance for another moment, then turned back to the empty space where the hologram had been.

"Thank you. Now, back to dead ghost mom," Violet responded sarcastically. She moved her hand back to the band itself, Alex's hologram lighting up the room as she did.

 _"We had been trying to figure out if there was any information that Kara may have gathered while over there that would lead to a weakness or a defense. What we discovered is that we had already utilized all that information. And that is very possibly what screwed us."_

Kara involuntarily twisted her face in confusion; that made about the least amount of sense of anything she'd ever heard. How could more information and advanced preparation be a bad thing?

 _"By pre-exposing someone from our universe to the Dominators, our timeline of events changed; without Flashpoint, without that bias, our interactions with the Dominators would have been very different. The working theory is that our response fueled their aggression. If what we know from Earth-1's invasion carries over to our universe, then they interfered because they were concerned we were becoming dangerous. And all we did was prove them right. The escalation, that's what led to them taking Kara. She has been the biggest proponent of a forceful and immediate response. All rooted in what she saw with Barry. Basically… what we can figure… what Flashpoint set in motion rippled through our universe and indirectly influenced some of the biggest events in our recent history. We need to go back and change our strategy. Back off a little when they arrive. Revert to a timeline that doesn't include a Flashpoint bias. Exercise VERY cautious optimism instead of immediately coming at them with everything we have—"_

Violet dropped the wristband, fury across her face, "that's insane. You guys can't actually be listening to this!"

Alex furrowed her brow and contemplated what her future self had said. J'onn calmly reached for Violet, "we don't have any choice but to listen right now. Once we have all the information we can figure out what to do with it. That being said… it doesn't sound so unreasonable to me."

"Are you kidding me? I've literally laid out how the Dominators destroy the world. How the hell is the proper response 'eh, just back off and let them do their thing'?"

"I agree with Violet," Kara stepped in. "Earth-1, they didn't go after the Dominators right away and they _still_ had to deal with the consequences."

Alex put out a hand to try and diffuse the situation, "look, guys, I know I haven't actually faced the Dominators –"

"No. You haven't." Violet responded indignantly.

"I know I haven't faced them," Alex reiterated, "but look at this from a logical standpoint. Earth-1 had their invasion, but Kara you told us they were able to reach an understanding with the Dominators. That they were willing to agree to a truce."

"Yeah, a truce that was unacceptable," Kara scoffed, "we still had to defeat them."

"But first there was a dialogue, right? A connection? What if that made the difference between continually escalating violence, and retreat?" Alex looked between Kara and Violet, who was still obviously fuming, but look on her face suggested that she was at least starting to consider the possibility.

"Kara," J'onn redirected, "if it was any other alien arrival. If you had never seen them before, had no idea who they were, can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't have started by giving them the benefit of the doubt."

Winn had been quietly working on the data stream that he was pulling from the wristband, a detailed analysis quickly populating across the screen in front of him, but had been listening closely to the conversation taking place behind him and finally interjected. "Look, I've got everything extracted and saving on here, so we can come back to this whenever we need to, as many times as we want, without needing Violet to drive it. I've got a program running now to organize the message into subject segments. HologrAlex –"

"That's going to stick isn't it." Alex huffed.

"Yes it is, thank you. _HologrAlex_ has a long message with a lot of information, but it looks like the bulk of the Dominator stuff was in this section. Then there's a bunch at the end that looks like it's probably about the time travel reversal, which I will start working on asap, but there's another bit in here for Violet. So how about we table the Dominator talk for a bit and let her see what else _hologrAlex_ ," he shot Alex a pointed look, "has to tell her."

* * *

 **Hey guys, I haven't really answered any questions or responded to comments yet (mostly because I don't know how many different ways I can say "thank you so much for reading this, I'm so glad you're enjoying this thing that I vomited onto the internet") but I really am so grateful that people are following and enjoying it! The handful of comments that have come through truly make my day.**

 **I'm for sure not a writer, this really just started as a drabble I had in my head that I just needed to get out and type up; I'm a total sucker for a good mother/daughter relationship story, and in every interview I've ever seen with Chyler Leigh she inevitably brings up how important her role as a mother is to her, and somehow that turned into an idea that just sort of showed up and wouldn't leave.**

 **Questions:**

\- **Maggie will absolutely meet Violet, don't worry it's coming up soon :)**

\- **As for whether Maggie is her other mom… well if Alex doesn't get to know the answer yet then neither do we.**

\- **I swear we will eventually find out who Alex ends up with.** ** _Eventually._**

\- **I'm sure there are/will continue to be some discrepancies between my writing and Arrowverse cannon. There's a lot to remember, so bear with me. Hopefully I don't mess up anything that will be significantly impactful.**

\- **And of course, yes, Barry ruins everything.**


	16. Chapter 16

Once everyone had taken a breather and calmed down a bit, they returned to the lab so Violet could take a look at the message from her mom. Winn had tried to explain that she didn't actually need to handle the band anymore, but if this message was going to be directed at her… she felt like she needed to be the one to control it. Winn cued up the section that his algorithm had flagged as being for her, then stepped back and let her take her time.

"What do you think she's going to say?" Violet softly asked, directing her question to no one in particular. The idea of a message directed specifically towards her was a very different prospect than the 'intelligence recap' that she had been preparing herself for since last night. It was a lot easier to detach emotionally when she wasn't expecting it to be personal.

"I dunno Violet. Do you want to watch it alone? We can wait outside…" Alex offered. Violet shook her head firmly, which took Alex a little by surprise. She knew Violet had been in a different headspace today, but was still impressed that she wasn't completely closing herself off in the face of the more intimate, emotional message that she was about to open up.

"You guys can stay, you should stay. Maybe there's something in this part that's helpful too." And maybe if Violet could frame this as potentially informational then it would be easier for her to get through it.

Kara seemed to pick up on this unspoken strategy, and sat down near Violet, "that's a good idea, we'll stay and if at any point you want us to go, we'll deal with it then, ok?" Alex, J'onn, and Winn all nodded silently in agreement and seated themselves close by. Close enough that they were _there_ , but not so close that they were hovering. Violet took it all in and reached for the band.

 _"Violet, I don't know how much of this I will have been able to tell you. I don't know how long it will have been between now and when you get sent back. But however things were when you left, they'll likely be completely different when you get home. I can walk someone through reversing the device, that should be able to return you back to the exact point in time that it pulled you from, it's just a matter of what that time will actually look like."_

This was fine. Just informational. Nothing too emotionally charged. Violet could do this.

 _"And I know it's going to be difficult, but the less personal information you can share while you're in the past the better. There are some things you're going to have to go into detail about – obviously. We want to alter the trajectory of the timeline as far as it relates to the Dominators, but changing too much in anyone's personal lives could do some very specific damage. Possibly to you."_

Alex didn't particularly enjoy hearing that bit of information, regardless of how much sense it made. She had really been hoping to find out a little more about what her life was going to look like from here. And who Violet's other mom was. That would certainly make it easier to justify either keeping this from Maggie, or giving in and telling her everything. But it looked like, for Violet's sake, she was going to have to stick it out back at square one – with no idea who the rest of her kid's family was, and no way to safely find out before she left.

 _"The good news is the reversal shouldn't take long if done properly, so you won't have to deal with keeping things to yourself for any extended period of time. I know it might be hard not to discuss your life and your childhood, especially depending on who you run into, but please know that it's for the best. It's the safest bet we have."_

Violet frowned to herself, hoping the personal information she had already shared wasn't enough to do any harm. She did her best to ignore the uneasiness that was building and focus on her mom.

 _"Vi, baby I know this is all a lot to take in. But I love you so much and everything this is going to accomplish should make things better for you when you get back, fix whatever terrible things have – and will – happen."_

Violet could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and turned away from everyone. Her mind automatically flashed through the deaths, the pain, and the devastation that had filled her life the last few years.

 _"These changes to the D.E.O. strategy, as hard as I'm sure they are to come to terms with, should stop them from going after your aunt Kara, and reverse whatever tragedy might come next. Anything severe enough to trigger you being pulled to the past… is something I want to prevent. More than anything."_

Alex watched Violet carefully, but stayed where she was. It was obvious that this was the part that was going to stick with her. As the hologram fizzled out, Winn popped up to take the band from Violet and get back to the analytical portion of the data extraction. Alex rose from her seat and tentatively made her way over to Violet, while Kara and J'onn stayed back to give them some space.

"Hey," Alex whispered as she approached Violet, who was still carefully facing away from everyone. She reached out and lightly rested a hand on her shoulder and felt Violet take a deep, shaky breath as she slowly turned to face her.

Once Violet's face was finally to hers she could see the tracks down her cheeks where tears had been steadily falling and her heart broke. "Oh kid, I'm so sorry," Alex spoke softly and enveloped Violet in a hug. She froze as she realized what she had done, but she hadn't even thought about it, it just instinctively felt like what was supposed to happen. Violet tensed up for a split second, and then melted into the embrace. In that moment, everything that had happened since her arrival, everything that she had been forcing herself not to feel, not to think about, abruptly came to the surface and quickly bubbled over. Alex held her there, strong and supportive and unwavering, as she silently sobbed into her shoulder.

Neither one of them noticed Kara and J'onn step out of the lab, pulling Winn with them.

After a couple minutes, Violet's tears had slowed and she took a step back from Alex. "Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed, as she ran the back of her hand across her cheek, trying to wipe away the evidence of her breakdown.

"Don't. Don't do that," Alex scolded gently, "Violet, I know I'm not the mom you remember, and I have no business pretending to be, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to think any less of you for not being able to keep everything inside all the time. The fact that you have so far blows me away," she cradled Violet's face in her hand and caressed her cheek with her thumb, catching the tear that fell in response. "What can I do for you from here? What do you need?"

"Can I just… not be here anymore? I know we haven't been here that long, but can we leave?" Violet asked, pleading eyes swimming in yet unshed tears.

"Yeah, that's fine, I'll let J'onn know and we'll go find something to do until Kara finishes up for the day and then you guys can go back to her place ok?"

"Maybe we could just go to your place for tonight? Is that ok?" Violet asked, somewhat hesitantly. She wasn't sure how much she could ask for, but figured that since Alex had offered once before it was likely still on the table.

"Of course. We'll go to my place," Alex did her best to breathe and keep her excitement over Violet's request in check, she certainly didn't want to come off as insensitive and spook her, "and I'll have Kara meet us there later?" Alex would be lying if she said there wasn't a part of her that wanted Violet to herself tonight, especially knowing that Winn would likely be able to get her home as soon as tomorrow, but Kara had done wonders for her last night and she wanted Violet to have all the support she could possibly need. Violet wiped her eyes, nodded, and smiled back at Alex as she started to make her way to the hall.

Alex couldn't move for a second, frozen in awe of Violet and how much differently she was handling herself today. This kid was something else; strong and fierce and spirited, yet still somehow gentle and complex. She smiled to herself, and pulled out her phone to shoot off a quick text as she hurried to catch up with Violet.

 _Have to bail on dinner, Violet wants to spend the night :) xo_

Maggie's response came through almost immediately; _You gave her a gun didn't you. Can I say I told you so? Enjoy your night, I'll ttyl 3_


	17. Chapter 17

Alex busied herself with towels and sheets and blankets. When she and Violet had gotten to her place she'd briefly showed her around, and left her settling in on the couch as she started to clean up the apartment. It wasn't _messy_ per say, but she certainly hadn't been prepared for company. Shit, she was running low on clean towels… when was the last time she'd done laundry? She grabbed the overflowing basket and made her way through the living room to start a load.

As she crossed behind the couch she noticed how still Violet was. She slowed down, and tried to get a better look, make sure Violet wasn't hiding tears again. She peeked around to get a glimpse of Violet's face and realized that she was passed out, sleeping hard and breathing deep. Not really sure what to do, Alex eventually forced herself to move and at least go start her laundry. Violet had had a shit day, a shit few years really, and she wanted this to be as homey and welcoming as possible. So. Clean towels.

With the washer going, Alex tidied up as much as she could manage without making too much noise and texted a bit with Kara and Maggie to try and pass the time. Eventually she headed back to the living room. It felt creepy, but she just… watched. Watched Violets face, soft and relaxed without the weight of the world that sat on her shoulders when she was awake. The rise and fall of her chest was steady, rhythmic, and Alex could barely tear her eyes away. This was her daughter, her child, and she was gorgeous and fiery and filled Alex with inexplicable sadness and pride. And if Winn really could get her home tomorrow… she didn't want to miss a second, even if it meant creepily watching her sleep.

Alex kept her eyes trained on Violet as she grabbed a folded blanket that was shoved into the bookcase. This was a mom move, maybe too much of a mom move, but she couldn't help it. She unfurled the blanket and stood over Violet, gently draping it across her.

Violet woke in an instant, scrambling back into the couch and eyes darting around to figure out where she was as quickly as possible.

"Hey, hey, Violet it's ok, you're ok, it's just me," Alex rushed, hand out to try and calm her before she flew into a full-blown panic. Violet caught her eye and started to steady, blinking rapidly and squinting through furrowed brow as she got her bearings. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I just… blanket." Alex tried to explain, not sure how much information Violet was capable of actually taking in at the moment.

"S'ok," Violet murmured, voice thick and low, "I'm a really light sleeper." Violet exhaled as she leaned back into the couch, heart still pounding. "Side effect of living on the run I guess."

Shit. Alex hadn't even thought about that, and was pissed at herself for inadvertently scaring the shit out of her kid. Probably thought she was under some sort of attack. "Go back to sleep, I'll catch up on some work and stay in the bedroom to keep it quiet out here."

Violet shook her head, wide awake now. "No, it's ok, I'm up now. Sorry, didn't realize how tired I was. How long was I out?"

"Maybe an hour?"

"That'll work. A little sleep goes a long way," Violet stood and stretched. Didn't do much to alleviate Alex's guilt for waking her up like that though.

"Yeah… listen if you're really up—"

"I'm up."

"Then… food? I can order whatever you want, as much as you want. Little bit of everything if that's good?" Alex turned into the kitchen and opened the designated takeout drawer.

"Actually, Kara mentioned pizza last night and that's kind of where my head's been ever since. Quick and easy and definitely not something that's readily available anymore," Violet had been thinking about pizza since she took her last bite of donut this morning, ready to keep making her way through the 'greatest hits of the past'. Plus she didn't want to put anyone out; an easy dinner was going to be just as satisfying to her as any fancy dinner could be anyway.

"You sure? Ok, I'll text Kara and have her pick some up. She'll show up with like 6 of them, but you and I should be able to get our hands on at least one," Alex joked.

As she pulled out her phone, there was a knock on the door. _Crap, she's already here. Now someone's going to have to go get it._ "That's probably her, guess we'll flip for takeout duty in a bit." Violet got up to let her in, and Alex barely had time to register how odd it was that Kara hadn't just let herself in, or come in through a damn window, before the door was unlocked and pulled open.

"Hi! You must be Violet, I'm—"

"Maggie! Hey, you're here, I thought you were staying in tonight?" Alex rushed the door and stepped in before Maggie and Violet could so much as shake hands. She hadn't explained Maggie to Violet, and she sure as shit hadn't (truthfully) explained Violet to Maggie. Which was another thing that she hadn't explained to Violet…

"Yeah, I figured I'd surprise you instead. I won't stay too long if you guys are busy, but I didn't see you this morning, and I kinda wanted to meet the mysterious cousin."

 _Cousin. Got it._ Violet thought, quickly putting together her story in her head, "Hi, yeah I'm Violet. It's really nice to meet you Maggie. Alex has told me so much about you I feel like I know you already." Violet smiled and stepped forward to give her a hug.

Alex wasn't really sure what to do with that… her mind was spinning so fast that she honestly couldn't remember how much she'd told Violet about Maggie, but she was pretty sure there hadn't been any especially in depth conversations about her. _She totally knows her! And she hugged her… point to the mom column,_ Alex thought _._ She knew she couldn't ask, but what she _could_ do was come up with a Mom/Not Mom list that would at least help establish probability. Alex was better at science and research than emotions and guesswork anyway.

"Awww, well whatever she told you don't believe her. So, you are the other little Danvers," Maggie stepped back and looked Violet up and down. "This one doesn't fly too, does she?" she directed to Alex, a teasing grin playing across her face.

"Not… not that I know of…" Alex replied, still playing mental catch up.

"Sadly no. That would be awesome though," Violet jumped in, enjoying the lighter nature of this conversation. She desperately wanted to be able to be honest about who she knew and how, but with the warning her mom – holo-mom? – had given her… she knew she was going to have to play dumb with anyone else she "met" while she was here.

"Hey, Alex, your window was open and I – Maggie!" Kara chose that moment to fly in, and froze when she saw the three of them standing in the doorway. She and Alex had had a very open and honest and complicated discussion about the Violet/Maggie situation that afternoon, and Kara was 99% sure that the conclusion Alex had come to did _not_ involve Violet and Maggie meeting tonight.

"Hey Kara," Maggie looked at her over Violet's shoulder and grinned, not acknowledging the surprise in Kara's voice. Alex turned to face Kara, who immediately noted her wide eyes and shocked face and realized this was not a planned meeting.

Kara pulled herself together, forced a smile, and lifted up half a dozen pizza boxes, "I brought food. Figured you guys probably already ordered whatever you wanted, but you can never go wrong adding pizza to the menu."

"We haven't ordered anything yet, but this is exactly what I wanted!" Violet just about leapt over the couch to grab pizza from Kara. "We were literally just about to text you to pick some up, but then we thought it was you at the door," Violet's explanation continued as she spread the pizza boxes out on the counter and started perusing. "Maggie, you should stay for dinner, I'm sure we can find a way to make six pizzas feed one more person." Violet grabbed one of the plates that Alex had left out to dry on the counter.

Maggie glanced at Alex and Kara, and not getting anything from them that indicated opposition, she grinned at Violet, "that sounds great, thanks". She left Alex and Kara to whatever weirdly silent telepathic conversation they were (not very subtly) having over her head and followed Violet. She quickly found the box of cheese only pizza and snagged a couple slices. Violet however, was currently working her way through with the 'one of each' method.

Maggie ignored the obvious tension between Alex and Kara as they both grabbed their own pizza (pizza _s_ in Kara's case) and met her and Violet at the table, "So, Violet. What are you up to when you're not crashing on your cousin's couches? You in school?" she asked.

"Mm, no. Hasn't really been on my radar… yet. I dunno, maybe soon though I guess," Violet answered, thinking to herself as she shoved another huge bite into her mouth. It _would_ be kind of cool if she could go to college when she got back…

"No? What do you do with all that youthful free time you must have then?" Maggie quipped, trying to lightly fill some of the awkward silence that was radiating from her girlfriend and her sister.

Violet looked up at her, suddenly grateful that her massively overstuffed mouth provided a good excuse for the time she would need to come up with a suitable answer. Luckily, Kara and Alex immediately jumped in with simultaneous cover stories for her.

"She travels—"

"Does relief work—"

Maggie raised an eyebrow, "Traveling relief work?" She wasn't an idiot, something was up. But whatever it was… if it was a Danvers family secret it probably wasn't her place to call anyone out on the super weird vibe she was getting. Still, she couldn't say she wasn't interested in seeing where this was headed.

Alex swallowed, and shot Kara a look before taking over, "Yeah, she uh, travels to different places. Third world countries and stuff. Helps people who are fighting oppression." That was _kind of_ true. The part where she was also on the run and the oppressive regime in question was extra-terrestrial was probably best left out. That and the time travel. And the family tree…

Doing her best to avoid Maggie's eye line Violet squinted at Alex, clearly not impressed with what she'd come up with. Alex shrugged helplessly. Kara started her third box of pizza.

"Makes sense," Maggie raised her brow and nodded. Probably not the real story, or at least not the _whole_ real story, but hey, if that's what they were going with…

"It does," Violet questioned, a little dumbfounded that she found that story plausible.

"Well yeah, I've never met a Danvers that's _not_ a bad ass, so. Makes sense."


	18. Chapter 18

The rest of the night had gone by smoothly, though way too quickly, if you asked Alex. Maggie had insisted on leaving soon after dinner, keeping her promise not to intrude. Kara had spent the night, but was up and out before even Alex had woken up. And Violet had looked so peaceful asleep on the couch that Alex let her sleep in as long as she needed. She played over every conversation she and Violet had had the night before as she took her coffee out onto the terrace; there hadn't been anything especially deep or heavy, she had just gotten to absorb Violet and her wit and cleverness and personality.

Once Violet was up, she treated herself to another shower (almost as amazing as the first) and she and Alex had breakfast together and talked a little more. Winn had texted Alex earlier that morning to let her know that he'd been able to reverse the band and that they could try and get Violet back whenever they got there. Which is exactly why Alex hadn't rushed.

At this point, it was just after noon, and Alex and Violet finally left to make their way back to the D.E.O. and meet up with everyone else who had actually showed up on time that day. Alex had already told Violet that the wristband was ready to go, and was trying to find something to say that might fill the deafening silence in the car as Violet sifted through her thoughts.

"You know, I'm really glad I got to meet you. I know this whole thing was a bit of a… mess… but it's been really amazing to get to know you a little bit. I've never really known if I'd be cut out to be a mom… but I'm really looking forward to whatever comes next." Alex tried that. Wasn't nearly as mushy and sappy as she could have come up with, but that was probably a good thing.

Violet smiled to herself before looking over to Alex. "Glad I didn't freak you out too bad… it _was_ kind of cool to meet you so young." The two of them fell back into a slightly more comfortable silence as they parked and went inside. Violet took her time, and Alex didn't push. At all. If Violet was the one stalling that meant Alex didn't have to.

Kara was waiting for the two of them in the rotunda; Alex had texted her to let her know that they were on their way up. The three of them quietly made their way down to the restricted wing, the weight of what was about to happen at the forefront of all their minds.

With three very heavy hearts the women slowed as the access door came into view. There was a whole long winded complicated reason that Winn felt they had to do it down there, where Violet appeared in the first place, but honestly Kara hadn't been paying attention when he tried to explain it.

Alex placed her hand on the access panel and opened the door. "You guys ready?" She wouldn't get choked up. Not in front of Violet. This was hard enough on her as it was, the last thing she needed was to have to deal with other people's emotions right now.

Violet nodded silently, heart pounding. There were a million thoughts going through her head; what she might go back to, what she was definitely leaving behind, what would have changed, and if it would all be for the better. She had been consciously managing her breathing since Alex had told her she was going back; deep breaths, _not_ hyperventilating. To say this was stressful was the understatement of the damn century. She was praying that whatever changed because of the message she had delivered would be enough to fix things… but it was hard to imagine going back to a world that was all sunshine and rainbows.

They stepped through the doorway and Alex headed over to Winn and J'onn as Violet looked around. She knew she had appeared in a highly-restricted area, but had no actual memory of anything before the medical bay, so this was all undiscovered territory as far as she was concerned. From what she could tell it seemed to be a highly technical storage area? Lots of machinery and gadgetry and things she couldn't identify, all seemingly dormant except for the mess that Winn was set up in the middle of.

Kara had been hanging back with Violet, attempting to find something to say that would ease her mind. Nothing she was coming up with felt like it would do the trick, so Kara when with something from her heart, something she would have wanted to hear if (when?) she was in a similar situation.

"Don't be scared, ok? Whatever changes, whatever is different… you got this. You're smart and strong and resilient, and no matter what you find when you get there, you can handle it."

A moment passed, and Violet's sad smile met her gaze, "I hope you're there when I get back, I've missed you. A lot. I know my mom technically sent me back to save everyone, but you know she really sent me back for you right? To find a way to save you?" Violet knew her mom pretty well, and there was nothing more important to her than her family. She had a pretty good sense that if it weren't for Kara's disappearance she never would have even considered fiddling with time travel and altered time lines, "the rest of the world… that was just an added bonus."

"I would have done anything to get her back if the situation had been reversed, so I probably can't be surprised." Kara smiled at Violet and wrapped her arms around her, which Violet immediately reciprocated. Kara couldn't wait to get to know her, the right way and in the right time. She hoped that whatever plan they all came up with to deal with the Dominators was successful, because she didn't want to have to risk missing out on this.

With her arm around Violet's shoulder they headed over to Alex and J'onn, who were both doing their best to follow Winn as he explained what he had done to reverse Violet's trip. He quieted quickly and gave Violet a compassionate smile as she and Kara got closer, "Hey Vi, ready to do this?"

"Yeah, I just… need to say goodbye I guess," _inhale, exhale, don't freak out._ Her heart was racing, jumping up into her throat every time she tried to picture what lie ahead. Winn nodded and moved out of the way as J'onn stepped in.

"Well Miss Danvers, it has been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you soon, the proper way," J'onn nodded down at Violet, a touch of humor in his eye. Violet looked up at him, there was something warm and calming about his stone faced smile. She only vaguely remembered that smile, but was certain she would miss it. Or not? J'onn could be there when she got back… god her head hurt trying to figure this out.

Kara came up to her, eyes squinting under the weight of the beaming grin that was plastered across her face. As she lifted her shoulders and held her arms out for another hug, Violet dropped her head and smiled to herself. Kara pulled her into a bear hug and for a second Violet was a little concerned she was going to break a rib.

When she finally let go, all that was left was Alex.

Alex took a deep breath and forced the corners of her lips upwards, though there was no happiness in her eyes. She told herself that she was going to be strong for Violet, no matter how much it hurt to say goodbye. "Kid… I—", _shit_ she was getting choked up. Violet didn't let her finish. She just launched herself into her arms and held on tight. Alex closed her eyes, settled into the hug, and held on to her kid one more time. As they broke apart, Violet quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and Kara moved to Alex, ready to be whatever she needed.

"I guess I'll see you in a minute? I hope?" Violet remarked, more to herself than anyone, as she pulled her gaze from Alex and offered her wrist to Winn.

As he fitted her with the wristband, he looked her in the eye. "You got this. And you're literally the first time traveler 2017 has ever seen, coming or going. Which is something that no one will ever take from you. And someday, when you're here and you're little, I'm going to make sure you know that." Violet nodded; she really did appreciate what he'd been able to do. Her nerves, however, were a little shot and she knew she wasn't exactly present at the moment.

"Ok, now that it's on you it's activated. I'll walk you through manually triggering it, and you should just… _poof_." Winn punctuated that last word with some 'firework style' gesturing. "Do… you want me to tell you what's happening? Or do you just want me to tell you how to do it."

Violet glanced back at Alex and Kara, frowned and shook her head vigorously. "No, just tell me what to do, I don't want to know when it's coming."

Winn gave Violet a quick nod and a brief hug, and stepped back as he started to explain what she needed to do. Violet turned and looked at Alex, who did her best to offer a reassuring smile. Her hand reached for Kara's, desperate for something to steady herself as she watched her kid disappear into oblivion. She focused on Violet's face, a combination of fear and hope etched across it. She ignored Violet's hands and fingers as they followed Winn's instructions and activated the wristband, and just memorized the details of her face.

There was an audible * **POP** * and a blinding flash of light and Alex felt the hair on her arms stand up as the air around her became electric.

The spot that Violet had been standing was empty, and there was a soft hum that dissipated through the room instead.

She felt Kara squeeze her hand and was acutely aware of J'onn's presence behind her. It had only been a couple days, but sending Violet back was like a gut punch, like someone went in and scooped out her insides and left a hole that they expected her to live with. She couldn't blink, she couldn't speak, she could barely breathe. All Alex wanted was to curl into a ball and disappear.

And then suddenly.

The hum that had all but vanished started to swell.

The electricity returned.

 _Flash_

* **POP** *

 _Violet._

In the air, maybe a foot off the ground for the smallest fraction of a second before she came crashing down, limp and motionless.


	19. Chapter 19

Alex didn't move. No one moved. No one could. It was as if they were all frozen in place.

"What the… hell," Winn spoke up first.

That was the push Alex needed to get herself to think, to get her legs and her feet to function. She was on Violet in a second, her own heart racing as she quickly worked to find a pulse. She briefly checked Violet over for any obvious injuries, eyes falling on the gash on the back of her head. Had she hit her head on the way down? It all happened so fast that Alex couldn't remember. Once she had dealt with the immediacy of the situation and had started to calm herself down, she was able to start putting thoughts and words together.

She whipped her head around, an overwhelming ferocity behind her eyes. " ** _WINN_**. WHAT THE FUCK. What happened? Why the hell didn't this work?" He had told her this would work. This was supposed to work. This was supposed to get Violet back. Instead she was here, unconscious, bleeding on the floor in front of her.

Winn froze, wide eyes staring back at her. "I… I don't know! It should have worked! I must have missed something, I just don't know what—"

"Agent Schott, I suggest you figure it out," J'onn growled, clearly a little bit shaken. And J'onn J'onzz did not get shaken. He'd already called for a medical team, they would be there shortly. He watched Alex, angry and protective, holding Violet's head and shoulders on her lap, and he couldn't help but see his wife and his own daughters. J'onn could remember what it was like to hold your child in your arms, broken and slipping away. He told himself that was not what was happening here and pushed the memories from his mind. He squared his shoulders as three medics and a stretcher arrived and directed them to Violet.

Kara put her hands on Alex's shoulders, keeping her in place while Violet was transferred to the gurney. Neither of them spoke, not to each other, not to anyone else. Alex was in a fog, focused solely on what was happening in front of her. And Kara was pretty sure she was the only thing keeping Alex from losing it; on Winn, on the medics, and just in general. One of the medics fitted Violet with a neck brace, "just until we know the extent of her injuries", ignoring Kara as she reported that she didn't see any broken bones or internal injuries. Someone said something about 'contusions' and 'sutures' and 'wound closures', words that seemed to hit Alex and bounce off as she followed the medics upstairs.

She watched as they hooked Violet up to the monitors, the same monitors she'd had on the first time Alex had laid eyes on her. She stubbornly insisted on being the one to clean and close the gash on the back of Violet's head. Doctors and medics left one at a time, until the room was empty aside from her and Violet and Kara.

An hour passed, then another. The only time Alex took her eyes off Violet was to look at her watch. She had figured out how long Violet had been out the first time she came through, and the closer they got to that contrived deadline, the more concerned she got. When they passed it completely… that's when Alex really started to worry.

Just shy of the four-hour mark, Alex saw Violet's eyes flutter. She straightened up, heart in her throat, and reached out for Kara.

"Violet?" She murmured, soft and gentle. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"Mmmmhf," Violet mumbled, eyes still closed. "ear isit? Wre amI?"

"Don't worry about it yet, just relax ok? Can you open your eyes for me?" Alex watched as Violet's eyes fluttered again, holding her breath as she waited for Violet's next move. After a moment Violet inhaled deeply and forced her eyes open.

She was… in the medical bay. At the D.E.O. And her mom was there. She began to smile, until her eyes and her mind started to focus and she realized that the face, her mom's face, was the same as it had been thirty seconds ago when she activated the wristband. Her smile fell into a frown as confusion took hold.

"I… I'm still here?" She whispered. This didn't make sense, she was supposed to go back, she was supposed to wake up in 2038 so she could figure out what had changed, what she'd fixed.

"Yeah. You were gone for a few seconds and then you reappeared. Winn's trying to figure it out." Kara reached over and squeezed her hand, "Are you feeling ok?"

"Head hurts… more than last time," Violet mumbled, closing her eyes again.

"Hey hey, let's stay awake, ok? You hit your head pretty bad and now that you're up we need to make sure you don't have a concussion." Alex was doing her best not to come off as a worried, overprotective mom, but watching Violet seemingly start to drift off again wasn't helping.

Violet opened her eyes back up and almost immediately found herself squinting in pain. She felt up the back of her head, fingertips lingering on the stitches she found. "Shit," she murmured, "you weren't kidding about hitting my head. Guess that's why it hurts."

"I'll go grab a doctor, have them check you out and bring you something for the headache," Kara stood up quickly, and after a nod of approval from Alex she headed out.

Alex settled onto Violet's bed, holding her hand and watching her struggle with the pain. After she had insisted on stitching Violet up herself J'onn had made it very clear that someone else was going to be taking lead on Violet's case, medically speaking. Because Alex was 'emotionally compromised' or something equally ridiculous.

It didn't take long for Kara to return with Dr. Hamilton, who thankfully didn't see any signs of concussion on her evaluation and therefore didn't have a problem giving Violet some of the stronger pain meds.

"This will put you out pretty quickly. It probably won't keep you sleeping the entire night, but you'll still be groggy when you wake up. The most important thing from here on is that you stay calm, relaxed, and get as much rest as possible," the doctor instructed as she injected something a little cold into Violet's IV line. Violet nodded slowly, careful not to move her head too quickly. She didn't love the idea of being sedated, but if that's what it was going to take to alleviate the throbbing, then she was in.

"Don't worry, I'll be right here when you wake up," Alex told her as Hamilton and Kara stepped out to discuss what had happened.

"You… you're going to spend the night?" Violet questioned. Her head was juuust starting to feel a little fuzzy, but she was pretty sure that's what Alex was saying.

"Yeah, it'll be fine, I'll pull a cot in or sleep in the chair or something," Alex shrugged it off, she had spent the night here with Kara plenty of times. She wouldn't call it _comfortable_ but it wasn't too bad.

"No, you go home, sleep in your own bed, I'll be fine. You heard her, I'll sleep and then I'll wake up groggy which means I'll pretty much just want to go back to sleep." Violet could tell she was starting to slur her words a bit, and her eyelids were suddenly oddly heavy.

Alex didn't like the idea of leaving Violet at the D.E.O. overnight, but had a feeling that arguing with her wasn't going to follow Dr. Hamilton's 'calm/relax/rest' orders. "Are you sure?"

"'m sure," Violet insisted sluggishly.

"Fine. I won't stay, but I'll be back first thing, ok? And if you need anything, even if you just wake up in the middle of the night, I want you to call me." And Alex would be insisting that J'onn check in on her and send periodic updates, but Violet didn't need to know that.

"Deal," Violet's eyes drooped as she smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. She was grateful that Alex was so intent on being there for her, but also very much looking forward to having some time to herself when she woke up. To wrap her head around the day and spend some time alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Alex soon left a sleeping Violet, though quite reluctantly. She needed to stop by the lab before she headed out. Needed to apologize to Winn. Something primal had taken over when she saw Violet hit the floor, and lashing out at him was probably not the right way to handle it. She entered the lab and made a beeline for Winn. "Winn, about before, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking and I—"

"Yeah yeah, I know, it's totally fine," Winn waved her off, something much more important at the forefront of his mind. "I was just about to come find you. Alex, I've gone over it and over it, and I followed those instructions to the letter, there's no reason that I can find where I went wrong. I didn't miss anything, this just… didn't work."

Alex let what he was saying sink in. "So until you can figure something else out—"

"Un _LESS_ I can figure something else out… Violet isn't going anywhere."


	20. Chapter 20

Alex fidgeted with the edge of her blanket absentmindedly, unable to concentrate on the movie they were watching. She had gotten home to find Maggie waiting for her, dinner cooked and on the table and ready to go. She did her best to engage while they ate, though her focus was constantly pulled down to her phone, which she had strategically placed on her thigh so she could check in at a moment's notice.

After dinner, they'd settled onto the couch and turned on… actually Alex had no idea what they'd turned on. She was too busy trying to stay awake and thinking about what was going to happen and whether Violet was going to be ok with this unexpected complication. And of course, by 'complication' she meant 'complete and total change of circumstances that would fully derail the promise she made to get Violet back to her actual life'.

Maggie paused the movie and nudged Alex with her foot after watching her check her phone for the umpteenth time. "Ok, what's going on with you? Something's up. Talk to me."

Alex looked up at Maggie, noting her worry and concern, and immediately felt guilty. It certainly looked like the Violet situation wasn't going to change any time soon, this was a reality that Alex knew she had to face. And that meant… she didn't know exactly what that meant, but she knew she couldn't keep it from Maggie, not anymore.

"There's something I need to tell you," Alex took a breath and paused when she saw a flicker of suspicion appear on Maggie's face, "don't worry, it's not what you're thinking."

"What do you think I'm thinking," Maggie narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, suddenly on alert. Preparing herself for… something.

Alex leaned forward and placed a hand on her knee, "I have no idea, but I promise you, whatever it is… this is something else completely. It's about Violet."

Maggie relaxed, relieved that she didn't have to delve any further into the black hole that her mind had started to fall into. She knew she had trust issues, but it still frustrated her how quickly she could slip into doubt and mistrust. "Ok. What's up. Are you finally going to tell me what was going on last night?"

 _Of course she picked up on that_ , Alex exhaled in resignation; this conversation might move along a little quicker than expected. "Last night was a little weird, huh."

"Weird? With the way you and Kara were acting, weird is not a strong enough word," Maggie joked.

Alex scoffed. "That—" _well, actually,_ "that… is fair. When you came by last night it caught me a little off guard, and there's something about Violet that's a little… I don't really know how to explain… there's a reason I couldn't – didn't – tell you before." Alex tried to salvage the explanation and pull herself out of the rambling word vomit that she found herself in. "She was supposed to… go home today. But something happened, and now she's here for, I don't even know how long, and I need to tell you what's going on."

"Ok," Maggie frowned, back to concerned.

"It's kind of complicated so just bear with me for a bit." Maggie said nothing, but nodded in acceptance.

"I actually only met Violet a couple days ago. She just sort of… appeared? It sounds crazy, but she's kind of… from the future. Twenty years from now things are in a really bad place, and she was sent back to fix it. I sent her back. Send her back…"

Nothing from Maggie. Alex continued.

"And also she's my kid."

Silence.

"She… what?" Maggie raised her eyebrows, eyes closing in light-headed bewilderment. Alex was right, this was light years beyond anything she could have possibly been imagining.

"Yeah. My daughter." Alex quietly confirmed. She held her breath and let Maggie just sit with that one for a minute before trying to keep going.

"Violet is your daughter from the future," Maggie murmured, trying to be careful with her next question. "She told you that? And you believe her?" _Detective Maggie Sawyer, at your service_.

"I do. It was a little hard to take in at first, but some of the things she's told us, the things she's said. And there was a holographic message. From me, from… her time." Alex ran through the evidence, the same evidence she had gone over and over on her own when she was facing the same outlandish story that she was telling Maggie right now. "The message, it explains what happened and hopefully how to fix it. But that's not— the important part right now is that it included instructions on how to get Violet back. Which we tried today, and it went wrong."

"What does that mean, went wrong? Is Violet ok?" Maggie asked, worry lines automatically showing up across her forehead as she suddenly found herself needing to know that Violet was alright.

"She will be," Alex reassured. Maggie was usually so analytical, she had expected the suspicion and the doubt, but the worry? That was a surprise, a very sweet one. "She hit her head, left a nasty gash behind. But I stitched her up and she regained consciousness and she's staying at the D.E.O. for monitoring overnight. She insisted that I come home though, so. Here I am." Alex sighed as she leaned back, looking down at her phone. Again.

Maggie ran her fingers through her hair, trying to recall everything she had heard and learned about Violet before tonight. "This is why you were so torn up the other night, when she wanted to stay with Kara."

Alex nodded. "She told us that I'm her mom, and I just wanted to get to know her, so badly, but she just… couldn't." Alex couldn't make herself look at Maggie, she was too busy going back to fiddling with the fringe on the blanket. She could feel the early warning sting of tears in her eyes.

"Why not? What else aren't you telling me?" Maggie coaxed softly.

Alex blinked a couple times and took a breath. Then she told Maggie everything; she covered the Dominators, the end of the world, Kara's "disappearance", J'onn's death… and her own. And what Violet had had to go through afterwards. All the ripple effects of Earth-1 and Flashpoint.

"Jesus," Maggie whispered.

"Yeah," Alex looked back at Maggie. "And after all that, I can't help but feel like we just let her down. She was supposed to bring us this message and then turn around and go home to something better, to something that she'd helped fix. But if she's stuck here… what happens if we can't get her back?"

"I dunno Danvers, this is all pretty far outside my area of expertise." Maggie's head was spinning, this was a hell of a lot of information to try and sift through all at once.

"I know. Same here." Alex watched Maggie's face, trying to come to terms with everything, and the pang of guilt returned. "And I'm sorry. That I didn't tell you before. I just… there was so much that I didn't know, and that I still don't know, and if she was only going to be here for a little while, then it just didn't seem like I could throw all that at you without even knowing for sure if— it's just that we've never talked about it, about kids and really settling down, permanently, and it felt like a huge can of worms that wouldn't have had any resolution and I didn't know how to even bring it up and—"

Maggie abruptly stood up, her back to Alex. "Wait," she whispered, taking her time, "you think she might be mine too?"

Alex froze. _Fuck._ Her mouth had been going so much faster than her mind that she hadn't had a chance to filter that through. _Well there's no going back now._ "I… I honestly don't know. She's not supposed to say much about her personal past, there's too much of a risk that she could majorly change something about her own life. But of course I wondered, I just… I wasn't sure if it was something I could even question, or if that would be putting too much pressure on what we've got right now…"

Maggie continued pacing as Alex quieted. It made sense, why Alex hadn't told her. But at the same time… if there was a chance that Violet was hers… "Holy shit," she whispered, grinning as she turned to face Alex, "I could have a kid." Alex stared at her, absolutely amazed with how well she was taking this – on every level.

Maggie plopped back down on the couch and shook the grin off her face, trying to clear her mind. "Ok wait but… look. Even if I don't, even if she's not mine… she _is_ yours. Or she will be. And at least for now she's stuck here and we have to do something about that. We have to make this ok for her. So she's going to stay here, with you.

Alex could not even put into words how in love she was with the woman in front of her. She grabbed her face and slammed Maggie's lips into hers, completely unable to contain her own beaming smile behind them. She was so unbelievably relieved and happy and warm and in love.

Once they broke apart, Alex just stared at Maggie and sighed, heart full of love and hope. She was probably the luckiest woman on the damn planet. Or in the universe; 'planet' was to small of a pool.

"Al, you both need to know that I've got her back, so if that means I have to stay away for a while so she's comfortable here… then so be it."

That one caught her off guard a little, but Alex couldn't say she didn't understand where Maggie was coming from. "I love that you want to do right by her, even without knowing if she's, you know. But I have a better idea. What if it means the apartment we were talking about getting together is just… bigger. We have a room, she has a room?"

"That sounds perfect, but only if she's ok with it," Maggie's soft smile fell away into seriousness, "we have to ask her first, and she has to answer honestly. No hard feelings, I promise."

"Of course."

"Just one more question. Do I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork for this one too? I think my hand cramped up after that stack of NDA's I signed when I figured out Kara."

Alex furrowed her brow and took a second to think it over, "… I don't even know how they would _come up_ with paperwork for this."


	21. Chapter 21

Violet came to slowly, the quiet beeping of her heart rate monitor calling her forth from sleep. She breathed and listened and tried to think before worrying about opening her eyes, already knowing full well what she would see when she did.

She knew where she was; in the medical bay of the D.E.O.. And she knew when she was. What she _didn't_ know was why. She remembered saying goodbye; to J'onn, to Kara, to her mom. She remembered Winn talking to her, saying goodbye, and walking her through triggering the wristband – her ticket home. And then she remembered being hit by a truck. Not literally, but good lord did it feel like it. There was a roaring rush of… something, and all of a sudden she was waking up, her mom hovering over her. But not _her_ mom. Alex. 2017 Alex. And Kara. She hadn't really been able to sort through what had happened, not with that blinding, throbbing headache.

Violet finally opened her eyes and searched for a clock; 3:08am. She had no idea what time it had been when she woke up earlier, but she was definitely feeling the grogginess that Dr. Hamilton had warned about. She did her best to clear her mind, still working on making sense of her jumbled mess of memories a few minutes later when J'onn's figure stopped in front of the sliding glass doors of 'her room'.

J'onn had been quietly making his way past the med bay nearly every hour on the hour since Alex had left for the night. Swearing to regularly check on Violet was probably the only thing that had gotten her out the door. He had been keeping an eye on Alex while she waited on Violet to wake up, and had seen the toll it had taken on her. She was worried, and she was new enough to this instinctual parental worry that it was going to be unexpectedly exhausting. He had a feeling she wouldn't even realize just _how_ exhausted she was until she got home.

J'onn knocked and entered as the doors slid open. Violet's head snapped up but her gaze took a second to reach him, as if everything in her head was lagging a couple seconds behind her body. "You're up," he stated, starting off slowly.

"Mhm. Why are you here? Isn't it the middle of the night?" Violet mumbled as she furrowed her brow and tried to think, _the clock said 'am,' right?_

"It is. Let's just call it the night shift." J'onn answered, making his way to the chair beside her bed. She seemed more than a little out of it, and like it wouldn't take long for her to pass out again, so he figured he'd sit with her for a while.

"Oh. Do you… do you know why I'm here?" Making sense of words in her head was apparently a little different than putting them together and forming coherent sentences.

"Well, you hit your head when you came back through—"

"No I, I remember that one. I mean. Why am I _here_. Why didn't I go back?" _There we go, that makes sense_ , Violet thought, stupidly proud of herself for being able to verbally communicate.

"I don't Violet. I'm sorry, I don't think we understand what happened yet. Agent Schott – Winn," he clarified, seeing confusion on Violet's face, "is working to figure it out."

"That's good," Violet murmured, leaning her head back into her pillow. She let her eyes flutter closed and felt herself slipping again. Maybe when she woke up someone would know something…

J'onn smiled to himself as he watched Violet's head and shoulders relax, taking it as confirmation that she had fallen back asleep. He stood silently and slipped out, pulling his phone out of his pocket so he could text a (hopefully) sleeping Alex with an update.

* * *

The next time Violet woke up she was pleased to discover that it didn't take long for the annoyingly groggy fog to lift. Whatever meds she had been given must have worn off, because the dull ache in her head had returned. Nothing like last night, but still not fun. She vaguely remembered waking up in the middle of the night, and was pretty sure J'onn had been there?

Violet's effort to recall her night was interrupted when Kara, Alex and Maggie appeared at her door.

"Hey, I heard you wake up, so we came to check on you. How you feeling?" Kara poked her head in.

"Better. Like I could use some Advil, but still better." Violet tried to joke.

"Well, then I will go get you some," Kara turned on her heel and disappeared, making room for Alex and Maggie to step in.

"You sure you're feeling ok?" Alex asked quietly, concern in her voice. J'onn had texted her around 3-something to let her know that Violet had woken up briefly, and she hadn't been able to go back to sleep after that. It didn't take long for her to decide she might as well just come in. And even though she had tried to take her 4:30am shower as quietly as possible, by the time she was out Maggie was up and dressed. She was a little bleary eyed, as any normal person is that early in the morning, but she had started a pot of coffee and insisted on coming in with Alex.

Violet nodded, relaxed as Alex came in and sat on the edge of her bed. "How long have you guys been here?" she frowned, "you look tired."

"Not too long, we wanted to be here when you woke up though," Alex smiled at her, gesturing gently to Maggie, who was silently hanging back, just staring at them. Violet watched Maggie, quickly becoming self-conscious as she zeroed in on the way Maggie was looking at her. The other night Maggie had been laid back and comfortable and sociable. But today? She was reserved and understated and Violet was starting to feel like she was on display…

"She told you who I am," Violet realized. That was the only explanation. There was no way that Maggie – a _cop_ – was this nervous around her simply because she was injured and in a bed. And as far as she knew, nothing else had changed in the last 36 hours.

Maggie slowly opened her mouth to respond, but Alex answered for her before she got the chance. "I uh, I told her everything that you told us. Especially now that you might be here for… a while… I hope that's ok? You can trust her, I promise."

"I know I can. I just… don't know who's supposed to know what. What might happen," Violet tried to run through some possible scenarios in her head, but it was useless. She had no idea what little change to her timeline might mess it up. She supposed that everyone being on the same page (as far as what was already out in the open) was ok? She vaguely remembered that Maggie used to consult with the D.E.O., so maybe they could bring her in on this anyway.

Maggie stepped up to Violet's bed, mind spinning as she looked at Violet with this completely new understanding of who she was. She steadied herself with an inaudible gulp, "it's really great to meet you Violet. To actually meet you. And not under weirdly awkward dinner circumstances," her eyes crinkled up at the corners as she smiled down at her. Alex rolled her eyes, well aware that was a dig at her and Kara. Though they probably could have handled that dinner a little better.

"You too," Violet smiled, "at least the pizza was good?"

Maggie heard footsteps down the hall, and winked at Alex before answering Violet. "Eeeehh, it was alright. I've got a better place we can take you to." Alex grinned at her girls, desperately hoping that this was the kind of thing she was going to be able to look forward to.

"What are you saying about my pizza?" Kara came up behind Maggie, stepping past her to hand Violet a few pills and a glass of water.

"Oh nothing, I was just saying I know where the best pizza in the city _actually_ comes from, and now that Violet's hanging out with us a little bit longer we'll have to check it out," Maggie teased. She knew Kara took her food choices very seriously, and it was pretty easy to get a rise out of her by questioning them.

Kara pouted, but turned her attention to Violet when she heard her clear her throat.

"Do you guys um… do you know how long I'll be here? How long until Winn gets the wristband working? For real this time?" She quietly asked, no longer content to avoid the subject. She took note of the glance that passed between the three women and determined that whatever was going on, they were all up to speed.

Alex took Violet's hand before starting to explain. Kara and Maggie both stayed where they were, letting Alex take the lead. "I talked to Winn a little last night and this morning. He was trying to figure out where the issue was, where he might have missed something. But it looks like he didn't, like he did everything that he was supposed to do to reverse it. Which is good, because if he had messed something like this up I might have killed him. But… it also means that there's something else wrong, and we're not sure what that is."

Violet stared back at Alex, and then looked around her to Kara and Maggie, pity on their faces. She had a good sense of what Alex was trying to say, without actually saying it. "So… the problem was with the instructions themselves. Not with Winn following them."

"Yes." Alex studied Violet's face, waiting for her to keep going.

"And if the instructions are bad…" Violet got quiet. Three days ago, Winn had basically told her this tech was fifteen years too advanced for him. Which meant that unless he could teach himself… he was likely not going to be able to figure out – let alone _correct_ – whatever was in those instructions that had prevented them from succeeding. "Am I stuck here?" she whispered, wide eyes meeting Alex's.

"I don't know," Alex watched panic appear on Violet's face, and swept her thumb across the back of Violet's hand, "but I promise you, just like I promised you before, we are going to do _everything_ we can to get you back where you belong."

Kara and Maggie both nodded in fierce agreement, this kid had an army behind her. An army of strong women who would do everything in their power to ensure that she was taken care of. And somehow, with that promise, Violet believed them. Even against all odds, against all 'time travel' and 'way too advanced technology' odds, she believed them.


	22. Chapter 22

Violet stared up at the ceiling, bored out of her mind. It had been eleven hours and three minutes since she had woken up and found out she was stuck in the past. Which she knew because she was pretty sure she had counted every single one of those minutes. No one would let her out of her room, hell no one would even let her out of bed. She had been able to convince both Maggie and Kara that they should go to work that morning, but Alex was in and out of medical all day, "not _"_ checking on her. Supposedly she was there working, but Violet was 100% sure that was an excuse. She couldn't say she didn't enjoy the intermittent company though.

Violet lifted her head when she heard a knock on the door to her room.

"Hey, you up for some dinner?" Alex asked her, holding up a couple of fast food bags, both Maggie and Kara at her heels.

"What if instead of you guys eating here with me, I—"

"If your suggestion involves you getting up and leaving the answer is still no."

Violet huffed and dropped her head back onto the pillow, returning to glaring at the ceiling. "You know, the last time I was in here you were the one that decided to spring me. And I've already been here way longer this time. Don't you think it's a little over the top? Another hour in this bed and my muscles are going to atrophy and I'll need physical therapy just to walk down the hall," Violet tried the dramatic approach. It's not like she expected it to work, but the complaining felt justified.

"Sorry kid, head injury means bed rest. You can do whatever you want, as long as it's in that bed." Alex explained without sympathy as she came to Violet's side and set herself down in a chair next to Maggie. Kara had seated herself at the foot of Violets bed and smiled as she listened to the exchange between the two of them. Alex started pulling out burgers and fries and handing them out. Violet immediately forgot what she was whining about and dug in.

The four of them ate in silence for a bit, until Violet decided it was time to ask some of the questions that had been on her mind all day.

"So what happens to me. Now that I'm stuck, where do I go," she asked. She was more than prepared to stay at the D.E.O., like she had when her mom was running the place, but no one had said anything either way, so it seemed like it was time to broach the subject.

"We," Alex started, glancing to Maggie, "were actually talking about that last night. We were thinking that you should come and stay with me."

Violet stared. Her burger suddenly felt heavy in her stomach. This certainly didn't seem like a solution that would help _avoid_ altering her timeline. Kara, already done with her second burger, held her breath and hoped they weren't about to have a repeat of Violet's rejection the other night.

Maggie watched as the look on Violet's face grew more serious and concerned and decided to address it, "how does that sound to you?" She and Alex couldn't do much for Violet if she didn't tell them what she was thinking.

Violet looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out how to explain what she was worried about. She didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but she knew if she turned them down she would.

"Do you guys think that's a good idea? What if I change something? Or get in the way?" This felt a lot like the excuse she had used to get out of spending the night with Alex, but she was truly concerned this time.

"You won't," Alex leaned forward and placed her hand on the bed. "We came up with a plan, if you're ok with it. If not, we'll figure something else out. But it's not fair to keep you here, or to keep shuffling you back and forth between different places. I want you to feel comfortable, to feel as much at home as you can while we're waiting for Winn to see if he can get everything sorted out."

Violet thought it over. She appreciated that Alex wanted to make things 'normal' for her, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy about being in the middle of everything. What if her being around caused a strain on Alex and Maggie? _What if they_ … Violet just didn't want something different to happen with them because of her. And who knew how long she would be there. It could be days. Weeks. _Months_. Hell, as much as she didn't want to think about it, there was still a very real possibility that she was stuck. Permanently stuck.

"What if we tell you what we came up with, and you tell us what you think," Maggie nudged gently. She knew the longer this conversation went without a decision, the more anxious Alex was getting. Violet looked at her and nodded, promising herself that she would be open minded, but cautious.

Alex gave her half a smile and started her pitch. "Here's the thing, Maggie and I have been talking about moving in together for a while now—"

"You have!?" Kara all but squealed, a wide eyed, dopey grin lighting up her face.

"Yeah, we haven't started looking yet or anything, but we're ready. We're there." Alex responded, glancing lovingly over to Maggie, who returned the sentiment. Kara actually _did_ squeal this time, and immediately leapt off the bed and scooped the two of them up in a bear hug.

"oOOF! Kara! Alien strength," Maggie gasped as she quickly patted Kara's shoulder twice, praying she would be aware enough to recognize the universal 'I'm tapping out before I die' signal.

"Right! Sorry! I'm just so happy for you guys!" Kara gushed as she let go. She continued to beam at the two of them as Maggie worked to catch her breath. Alex, however, was far more used to her sister's bone-crushing hugs and had no trouble getting back to the matter at hand.

"Anyway," Alex snickered to herself as she watched Maggie put her hands on her knees and breathe deeply, then turned back to Violet. "We figured whatever place we got would have to have a spare bedroom, and if you're going to be here for a while, then you should probably just… take it. Right now your options are studio apartment, studio apartment, or D.E.O. bunks. But this way you can sort of have your own space."

Violet took a second. "To be clear. You guys were already going to move in together. Even without me showing up? It would have happened anyway?" Alex nodded, as did Maggie once she finally stood up straight. "That… seems ok then."

"And before the move, if me being there with you guys is too crowded then I'll just stay at my place while we're sorting it all out," Maggie hurried to offer options so Violet wouldn't feel cornered.

"You can stay wherever you want while we're looking for an apartment; with me, with Kara I'm sure, even here." Alex added quickly, Kara nodding vigorously behind her. "Or you can stay at my place and I'll stay with Maggie if you need a night to yourself or something." Alex continued. She was thrilled that Violet seemed on board, but was well aware that she had spent a good portion of the last couple years alone or with very few other people. And then she was dropped into a situation where she had had someone with her practically at all times. She certainly wouldn't blame her for wanting some time to herself.

Violet looked around at the three of them, not at all surprised by the hospitality, but grateful none the less. "Staying with you… I guess that could work. I really don't want to put anyone out though; if I need space, I'll just crash here for a night or something."

"So, you're good with this? All of this?" Maggie asked, delighted at the prospect of Violet staying with them, but intent on making sure she wasn't just agreeing out of courtesy.

"On one condition," Violet replied, suddenly very serious. Alex immediately stopped her mental celebration and began to worry, holding her breath as she searched Violet's face for some hint as to what she was about to request.

"If I'm going to stay with you… I get to go tonight. No more monitors, no more hospital bed, no more boring medical bay."

Alex exhaled, relieved that it was just Danvers stubbornness. "Fine. God, you're worse than Kara."

"Rude," Kara pouted. Alex raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't say _wrong_ , I just said 'rude'."


	23. Chapter 23

The first few days after Violet 'moved in' with Alex were a little strained, and they found themselves walking on eggshells around each other. Alex was doing her best to be comforting and hospitable without coddling, a balance that she found extremely difficult to maintain. It didn't take long for her and Maggie to figure out that Violet wasn't big on sitting still or taking it easy, which made for some conflicting agendas.

Violet, on the other hand, was trying to find a way to build a relationship with a completely different version of her mother. And with Maggie, who she barely remembered. She could tell they were both itching to ask her about Maggie's future, if Maggie was her other mom. But as much as Violet wanted to tell them… that part of her life wasn't Dominator related. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to – or _allowed to_ – try and change that part of her past.

The tight quarters didn't help. Luckily, Alex and Maggie were able to find an apartment relatively quickly (Violet had refused to help them look, citing something about 'not wanting to influence their path'), and it wasn't long after that the three of them were packing up and moving boxes in, new keys in hand.

"Ok, kitchen boxes can just sit on the counters, we're not even going to pretend that we're going to unpack and cook tonight." Alex directed. Kara had insisted on helping them move, which was making the entire process go much faster.

"Got it," Kara dropped her four boxes right inside the kitchen and turned around to make another run out to the truck.

"Super strength is going to make this move a breeze," Maggie smirked as she leaned over to give Alex a peck on the cheek. They had moved her stuff in yesterday, today was Alex's turn.

"Yeah, we're still going to have to unpack it all though," Alex raised an eyebrow and gave Maggie an exhausted look. You could barely walk three feet without running into a stack of boxes. Violet was working her way through organizing, which really just consisted of checking the sharpie scribbles on the boxes and sticking them in their corresponding rooms. It was clear that she was still a little unsure about making this 'her' home, so she had been doing what she could to try and stay a little detached. Nothing was labelled 'Violet' (though Alex had tried), just… 'Guest Room'. That being said, the idea of having a room where she could close the door and just be alone was currently thrilling.

"That's the last of them, I think all that's left is a bed and a dresser for Violet and you guys are officially moved in," Kara beamed behind the five huge boxes she was balancing. Alex kept her fear that they were about to topple over to herself, and luckily they were all marked 'Living Room' so Kara didn't have far to go before she could unload.

"Just a bed," J'onn gruffly called in from the hallway. Maggie poked her head out, and saw a dresser moving towards her, only J'onn's feet visible beneath it.

"On it," sang Kara, sliding around J'onn and dresser.

Violet finally finished dispersing the bedroom boxes between the master and the guest room and came back through the living room as J'onn entered. "Where do you want it Violet?" Alex asked her.

"Up to you guys, it's your guest room." Violet responded, dodging Alex's attempt to get her opinion on 'her' room. Alex, who was getting much better at not taking Violet's resistance to heart, forced a smile, nodded and followed J'onn.

As much as Violet wanted to be able to feel at home here, she knew what she was doing. She was protecting herself – in more ways than one. The emotional side of her didn't want to get too attached, because that would mean she was settling in and resigning herself to the idea that she might be staying. The logical side of her wanted to stay as out of the way as possible, or risk changing something. Both sides of her agreed that this room wasn't hers. This home wasn't hers. She was just… visiting.

Violet listened to Alex in the other room, explaining how the 'guest room' was to be laid out. She plopped herself onto the (surprisingly) empty couch in the living room and exhaled as she kicked her feet up onto a (not so empty) box.

Maggie dropped down next to her. "I'm pretty sure I've only carried up like three boxes. Which is exactly how moving should go."

"Same. And yet somehow I'm still exhausted." Violet answered, leaning her head back with a smile and closing her eyes. There was a thump at the door as Kara hit the wall with the bedframe on her way in, knocking some paint off.

"My bad. Nothing broke… much," a sheepish smile plastered across her face as Violet looked up to see what the noise was. Maggie raised an eyebrow in mock judgement and pointed her towards the guest room.

"The one drawback of the superhero moving company," Violet joked.

"Completely acceptable drawback, especially if it means we get to sit here instead of sweating over boxes for another three hours," Maggie nudged her shoulder into Violet's. "So, what do you think of this place? Guest room looking good to you?" She had a pretty good sense of Violet's detachment strategy, and had stopped trying to call the room 'Violet's' the first time she'd been corrected.

"Much better than some old park bench or abandoned shed, so no complaints," Violet grinned at her. What she wasn't saying was how much she loved the floor to ceiling windows, or the soft blue paint on the walls, or the way her the room faced a huge mature tree. Those were things she would keep to herself. After all, she wouldn't be staying here long. Hopefully.

Alex exited the guestroom, hands together. She stopped and smiled at the sight of Violet and Maggie sitting together, sunken into the oversized couch, casually talking about it-didn't-even-matter-what. When they noticed her watching them, she headed their way. "Ok, spare room has furniture and boxes, we'll just pull some sheets out and Violet has a place to sleep tonight; a real room that comes complete with door and personal space."

"Good deal, thanks," Violet smiled and shifted as Alex took her place on Violet's other side. It was odd, feeling so relaxed and at peace here. She knew she was one hell of a curve ball, but somehow she knew without a doubt that Alex and Maggie were both completely invested in making her feel as comfortable as possible.

Kara and J'onn finished perfectly positioning the bed and made their way into the living room after Alex. With a mischievous grin Kara silently whipped out her phone and snapped a photo, no one the wiser. She had a feeling that regardless of how long Violet ended up staying with Alex and Maggie, this photo would eventually be indisputably cherished by them.

"Alright then. I will leave you all to settle in and see you at work in a couple days," J'onn headed towards the open door, not wanting to intrude.

"What! No! Stay for dinner, I'm sure we're going to get take out or something," Violet popped up, pleading eyes meeting J'onn's before she looked around the room. "Right? Kara? You're always down for food, can't we all do dinner?" She glanced at Alex and Maggie on either side before focusing back on Kara.

"I mean, I could definitely eat. Like, a lot," Kara laughed. Moving may not have required as much energy as, say, saving the world, but that didn't mean she hadn't worked up an appetite. Granted, it really didn't take much at all for Kara to work up an appetite…

"Of course we can do dinner," Alex smiled at Maggie over Violets head, making sure they were on the same page. Maggie smiled back, nodded, and pulled her wallet out of her back pocket.

"Here Kara, whatever you want. On us. Our way of thanking you for basically moving us in."

With that Kara took off out a window, and Alex rolled her eyes. There was no breaking that habit. "Stay J'onn. We'd love to spend the evening with you, unless you need to get back to the D.E.O.?"

Violet kept her eyes on J'onn, fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to say no to her if she pouted. That seemed to be a Danvers' women trait that he was extremely susceptible to, and from what she had heard she wasn't the only one of them to take advantage of that.

J'onn noted the look on Violet's face, smiled to himself, gave a single, curt nod, and settled into the only other empty chair in the apartment, "I'm sure they can survive without me for another few hours."


	24. Chapter 24

It took a couple weeks, but eventually they settled into some semblance of a 'routine'. Violet would come to the D.E.O. with Alex most days, though the few times she had stayed behind and had the apartment to herself were cherished.

The time she spent at the D.E.O. started as more of a 'keep an eye on the time traveler with nothing better to do' type of plan, but quickly evolved. As days turned into weeks, Violet found that she no longer started every morning by asking Winn if he'd made progress with the wristband, a realization that terrified her. She was doing her best not to dwell on the fact that her chances of being able to get home— _ever_ —were dwindling.

In an effort to keep herself busy, and out of the way, Violet went through her mother's hologram message, repeatedly and in detail, so she could help Winn start to compile the information that he was gathering. She offered insight, reported on everything that she could remember to fill in the blanks.

It was frustrating to realize that while she had knowledge of the future, she actually knew very little about when the Dominators had _first_ arrived. The arrival that had set the course for every subsequent violent and aggressive interaction they would have. The arrival that had happened when Violet was barely three years old, and that she really only knew about from history books.

On this day in particular, Violet was slumped over with her forehead on a desk, tired of going over and over the details that she _could_ remember, to try and help put together a timeline.

"If we can pin point where and when they first come through, what if we met them there— _peacefully_ ," Kara lifted her hands as J'onn and Alex both opened their mouths to argue, "and had some sort of… summit. Maybe we could figure this all out right there, on day one." Kara looked at them both, and watched as their faces went from argumentative to considerate.

"It won't work," Violet grumbled from behind them, head still flat against the surface of the desk. "They'll just kill you all. That's how they work."

"Vi," Alex hated making Violet go over this, it felt like she was trying to convince a victim to give the perpetrator of their worst nightmare the benefit of the doubt. "That's how they work in twenty years, but if we can get to them right away—"

"It. Won't. Work." Violet snapped her head up, frustration coming off her in waves. "And instead of you getting killed when I'm sixteen, you'll be killed when I'm three. And then there will be no time travel to go back and fix it _again_ , so it'll be our only shot."

"Violet—"

"No, you don't understand. All I have left in the entire world is my memories of you, of all of you. I have that and I have this second chance. That's it. If you handle this wrong, that's all just… gone." Silence filled the office and everyone stared at Violet, as if they were only just now understanding why her resistance was so fierce.

As Violet met Alex's eye line she all at once felt her anger give way to guilt, and dropped her gaze. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I know how selfish that sounds."

Alex didn't have a response ready for that one. Kara did.

"Hey, it's not selfish. Not at all. I know what you mean, I know what it's like to only have memories left. And there is nothing in this universe that would make me want to risk losing them too," Kara said softly as she seated herself across from Violet. Alex watched them both, hating how much they really did have in common. Violet's eyes rose to meet Kara's, tears sitting just below the surface.

Kara reached across the desk and laid her hand down in front of Violet, "I know this is scary, second chances in life are rare. And third chances? Even rarer. So, I promise you, we're not just looking for a solution that might work, with a backup plan to try again if it doesn't. We're going to find the best possible option and do whatever we can to make sure it's a real solution."

"I can't just ignore what I know. They've taken everything from me, why are we talking about letting them get away with that." Violet asked quietly.

J'onn pulled out a chair and seated himself next to Violet. "Because our job is not to punish an entire race of aliens for the unspeakable acts that they haven't technically committed yet. It's to prevent them from getting to that point in the first place. And if your mother's intel is accurate, which I believe it to be, then our best chance may very well be to attempt peace at the beginning."

Watching the three of them, Alex silently realized that their pasts, their traumatizing, horrific pasts, were all uncomfortably similar; J'onn, Kara, Violet. All three of them had lost everything. All three of them had been ripped from their decimated homes and deceased loved ones. All three of them were in the midst of their own second chances. And all three of them grappled with the knowledge that their memories were all they would ever have of their pasts on a daily basis.

But seeing Kara and J'onn talk softly with Violet was heartwarmingly bittersweet; they were both able to take the horrendous things from their pasts that all but defined them, and use them as a way to connect with and support Violet.

"I think we need to get you out of this room. You've been watching this footage and reliving everything that happened almost every day for the last month. Alex, you're off tomorrow anyway right? You don't need to be here?" Kara turned to her, and Alex nodded.

"Technically, yeah. I have some stuff I have to take care of though."

That 'stuff' was a lead on an old warehouse that may or may not have had a Cadmus connection once upon a time. Alex wanted to check it out, but J'onn didn't exactly know about this particular lead, so her first look was going to be on her own time. Every lead they had followed lately had been a dead end, and Alex was getting tired of reporting the same thing over and over; _Nothing here, we missed/lost/got bad intel on them. Again_. Hopefully this would reduce the amount of frustration that surrounded their 'steadily-growing-colder' Cadmus investigation. They had been so focused on Violet and the Dominators that Cadmus had sort of taken a back seat.

Kara grinned, "Good. There's no need for us to be here without you anyway. Violet, tomorrow you're coming to CatCo with me. We'll get you out and about and put your feet on the ground and let you actually get some fresh air for once."

Violet froze. She had been very careful about minimizing the number of people that she interacted with so far. And CatCo, or anywhere within the general public, was a _lot_ of people. Alex could see the apprehension appear on her face, and decided to give her a little push.

"I think that's a great idea. Even just for a few hours. You can get the Dominators out of your head for a little while, see how National City looked 'back in the day'," Alex smirked at her, knowing full well that Violet would probably consider most of the city to be vintage compared to when she lived it.

Violet looked back and forth between the sisters, neither of whom seemed overly concerned about this idea, "you guys really think that's ok though? For me to be out there messing with that many people?"

"I mean, you're not going to be _messing_ with them. You can just shadow me around for a day; I'll show you around and then I'll just be doing research and maybe doing a couple interviews. It's not like I'm just going to drop you into the middle of a room full of people and tell them where you came from."

"I guess… it just seems like the more I interact with 2017, the more the future is going to change."

Alex took a moment, trying to figure out how to explain this to Violet. She didn't want her to feel like she had to sacrifice the little bit of normalcy she might be able to achieve here just because she was worried about how the future might change, when the reality of the situation was that was what she had been sent back to do in the first place.

"I think it's time to accept that you being here isn't a short-term situation. Whether it's permanent or not, it certainly looks like it's not something that we're going to be able to correct any time soon. And even if all you do the rest of the time you're here is sit in a cell and go over a strategy for the Dominators… the future is going to change. I think it's safe to say we're at the point where that change is unavoidable. Which is good, that's what you're here to do. But you need to start letting yourself live somewhat normally... you deserve that."

Violet thought it over, still a little unsure. Maybe they were right. Maybe a couple hours wouldn't hurt. She had already gotten involved in Alex's life, in Kara's and Winn's and Maggie's. There was no way that her simply… _being there_ … hadn't somehow altered their lives. And changes to their lives would undoubtedly have some sort of ripple effect on the world around them, small as it may be.

"We're not saying go out and let loose and be reckless, but I think a day out would do you good," Kara urged, looking forward to a 'take your niece to work day'. "If we get to the point where you're uncomfortable, I'll take you home."

Violet smiled at Kara, slowly getting excited about the idea of _not_ seeing the same two buildings and twelve faces the next day. "Deal. And can we do sushi for lunch? That takeout sushi we tried to do a couple weeks ago wasn't nearly as good as I remembered."

"Definitely. I know the _best_ sushi place."


	25. Chapter 25

"So? What do you think?" Kara held her arms out and spun back around to face Violet.

"It's… big. And… busy." Violet was understandably overwhelmed by the bustle of the CatCo media floor. The last time she'd been around this many people they were all running for their lives. Literally. This was a significantly different situation, but she couldn't help that it had her on edge.

"Ponytail!"

Kara winced at her nickname, and slowly turned to see Snapper coming towards her. "You're supposed to have a story for me," he barked, gruff and sour as always.

"Yes, I know, I'm working on it, I've got another week until my deadline, and I want to make sure I've got credible sources so I lined up a couple more interv _—_ " _Stop babbling, Kara,_ she scolded herself.

"Just get it done," Snapper huffed and retreated back into his office.

"What… the hell was that," Violet asked, wide eyed.

"That. Would be my boss." Kara closed her eyes. Not the first impression of CatCo she wanted Violet to be stuck with.

"He seems less than delightful."

"He's not as bad as he seems. Once you can get past his… prickly exterior, anyway," Kara wasn't sure why she was so quick to stick up for Snapper, he wasn't exactly her biggest fan. But CatCo was _her_ place, and she was eager for Violet to see how special it was.

"Uh huh," Violet raised an eyebrow, "If only he knew who he was talking to…"

"I tried that once. Trust me, he talks to her – _me_ – the same way. Regardless of which outfit I'm wearing." Kara responded.

"Seriously? Jesus. You'd think he'd be a little more impressed with, or grateful to, Supergirl." Violet knew she was biased, but the only person she knew that was more of a badass than her aunt was her mother. She couldn't help but feel annoyed at this 'Snapper' guy for not realizing that. _Snapper's a stupid name anyway_.

"Seriously. It doesn't matter though, it's kind of nice to have someone who doesn't place Supergirl up on such a different level than Kara Danvers. Makes me feel like I'm worth just as much as she is." Kara shrugged, not sure how else to explain it.

"Or just as little," Violet mumbled to herself, not interested in letting Snapper off the hook that easily, regardless of how well Kara could justify his attitude. She followed as Kara stepped into an empty elevator and pushed the button taking them to the top floor. As they got off, Kara lead her to a massive glass office that took up almost half the floor.

"And this, is James," Kara walked right into Cat's old office to introduce him to Violet. "He's a close friend, and he actually came here from Metropolis, knows Clark," she winked at her.

"Knows Clark? Or knows Kal?" Violet whispered over her shoulder to Kara as she stepped forward to shake James' hand.

"Knows Clark _and_ Kal," James whispered as he grinned down at her. "You must be Violet, Kara's told me a lot about you." Violet turned her head back to Kara, curious what she had shared.

"Yup, I told him that you're Alex's and my cousin and you're in town for a while and staying with her and Maggie," Kara quickly explained. It wasn't that she didn't think James could keep a secret, but she knew how apprehensive Violet was about too many people knowing the truth about her. She had a feeling he would end up being in on the secret eventually, but for now she felt it should be up to Violet to decide who else knew what.

"So, this your first time in National City?" James leaned back onto his desk, crossing his arms and bringing one foot in front of the other, effortlessly warm and casual.

"Not quite, I was here a long time ago. Definitely much different back then," Violet answered, unable to tear her eyes from the breathtaking view of the city.

"There's something almost magical about this city, and trust me, there's no better view of it than this one," James nodded out to the balcony as he got up and lead them both to the door. Violet liked James, he was kind and up front. And funny. She knew he had been around when she was little, but had no real memory of him. If she remembered correctly, he had been killed in one of the earliest Dominator waves trying to get a story or a photo or something that got him a little too close.

"This is one of my favorite spots in the city," Kara murmured as she watched Violet stare off into the city, "and I know a _lot_ of amazing spots." They all stepped onto the balcony and Violet felt the wind and the silence and all at once knew exactly what Kara meant. She knew what it meant to have a particularly meaningful place to retreat to.

"Aside from this little field trip, what do you ladies have planned for the day? Anything I can do for you?" James asked and offered after giving Violet a minute to take it all in.

"Mostly research, she's just tagging along. Nothing special today," Kara answered for Violet, knowing how she felt about causing anything unusual or out of the ordinary to happen in other people's lives. And aside from dropping in from 20 something years in the future, she was pretty good at staying out of the way.

"You know, there's an empty office right below this one. Similar view if you're interested," James smiled at Violet. He knew Kara's 'quarters' down on Snapper's floor didn't have much in the way of privacy. Or space. Especially if Violet was going to be spending the day there.

"Are you sure? It wouldn't be an inconvenience?" Kara asked, pretty sure she knew what the reasoning behind Violet's impending, yet polite, decline would be. Violet looked back at her, impressed that she was that intuitive.

"Not at all, the guy that usually uses it is out of the country, it could use some life. And if anyone tries to give you trouble, just send them to me. Maybe I'll get a chance to stop in after the conference call I've got coming up. I think Cat probably had much more fun with this CEO stuff than I do," James grinned at them as they made their way back inside.

* * *

Kara and Violet sat together in the bright and airy office that James had set them up in, having gotten sushi delivered from one of Cat's favorite places. Kara didn't correct their assumption that the order was _for_ Cat; she tended to get much faster service that way. Perks of being a former assistant.

They ate and talked, light and happy. Violet was pleased to admit that not being at the D.E.O. for once was a nice change. This place had windows. And people wearing something other than black. Much less… somber. And Violet had enjoyed spending time with James, it was nice to see how Kara was around other people that made her happy.

As Violet finished up a hand-roll she watched Kara pause, mouth full, and pull a vibrating cell phone out of her pocket. She looked at the caller ID, swallowed, and rolled her eyes in amusement. "It's Alex. Checking up on us I'm sure," she winked at Violet, who responded with a grin as Kara picked up her phone. "Hiiiii, Alex, we're all good here, I told you, you don't need to worry _—_ "

" _Hey Kar, I know you're with Violet, but I kind of need you_." Alex's rushed request came through before Kara could even finish teasing her.

"Ok, what's going on?" Kara immediately dropped the playful banter in favor of seriousness and concern.

" _It's nothing huge, I just need your x-ray vision_."

Kara let out a brief sigh of relief, "You could have lead with that, I thought you were in some sort of trouble." Violet looked up, a flash of inquisitive confusion on her face. _What were they talking about? What did Kara mean by trouble?_

" _No, no, I'm fine, everything's fine. I'm following a Cadmus lead—_ "

"Wait, you're supposed to be off today, you're there alone?" Violet didn't particularly like only being able to hear Kara's side of the conversation, and sat up a little straighter.

" _It's fine, it's supposed to be a cold lead, I just hate chasing dead ends. This place is huge and I can't go through the whole thing on my own and Maggie is swamped and – wait hang on –_ " Alex paused and went completely silent.

"Alex? What's going on? What's happening?" Kara stood up quickly, and suddenly Violet found herself filled with dread.

" _Shh, hang on!_ " Alex's strangled whisper came through the phone, only serving to further spook Kara.

She wasn't about to wait around to find out exactly what Cadmus disaster her sister was currently walking through. Speaker glued to her ear, she placed a hand over the mouthpiece of her phone, "Violet I gotta go, I need you to wait here."

"What, no! I can help, I'm coming with you!"

"Absolutely not. Alex would kill me, and I would deserve it."

Violet opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself when Kara raised her hand for silence as she heard Alex's voice come back through the phone.

" _Kara? Hey sorry, I thought I heard something. I cleared this place the best I could, but thought maybe there was someone here. It's fine, I think_."

"Don't go anywhere, I'm on my way."

" _Ok, thanks I'll see you in a few_."

Kara hung up, already on her way out of the office, "Violet, I'll be right back, I need you to _—_ "

"No way. I'm not staying here. Even if you think you guys don't need my help, I'm not staying here and risking messing something up on my own. Everyone is safer if I'm with you guys."

"Fine," Kara huffed. She really did not have time to argue with Violet; she had a bad feeling and needed to get to Alex as soon as possible. "But the second we land you go find Alex's car and you wait there until the building is cleared. Completely."

"Promise." Violet took off behind Kara, ready to go.


	26. Chapter 26

"Alex!" Kara called in a forced whisper into the seemingly empty warehouse. She and Violet had arrived in record time, and that was saying something considering what Supergirl's record was. Kara had spotted Alex's car immediately, and directed Violet to it as she briskly moved towards the massive metal building behind it. Somewhat surprisingly, Violet had done what she was told without argument or complaint.

"Alex!" Kara tried again. She ducked under a fallen beam and her eyes finally fell on Alex, crouched and frantically waving her down. Kara moved to her in an instant.

"There's someone here, I can't get a visual on them." Alex whispered. Kara stood and scanned the area, not taking long to settle on a figure through a few walls of the warehouse.

"J'onn?" She whispered, confused. Alex looked at her, side arm drawn, hesitation and confusion matching her sister's.

All at once there was a roaring sound and the 'room' they were in imploded. Someone came rushing towards them, and Kara quickly realized what was going on.

"NOT J'ONN," she yelled to Alex as she took off towards Hank Henshaw. Alex stood and began firing, trying to wrap her mind around why Cyborg Superman would be lying in wait in an old abandoned warehouse. _One hell of a long-game for a simple little trap._ As Hank Henshaw suddenly gained advantage in his hand to hand fight with Kara, Alex realized she had not come prepared for a fire fight. Her side arm was not limitless, and unfortunately the 'limit' was generally how many rounds she could squeeze off before needing a new clip.

Kara, possibly hearing Alex attempt to fire an empty weapon, returned to her side. "You good?" she asked, breathless. Alex grunted as Henshaw slammed Kara into her. Kara quickly popped back up and came at him, doing her best to protect her sister.

Then, out of nowhere, a shot rang out. And then another. Alex couldn't tell where they were coming from, or whether they were actually hitting Henshaw, but thankfully he seemed just as confused as she was and turned his attention away from her and Kara for a moment. Alex turned to find the source of the shot and once she settled on the flash of a gun muzzle her heart stopped.

" _Violet_ ," she breathed.

Kara whipped her head back around to Alex, and followed her line of sight to Violet who was perched up on a platform near the entrance to the warehouse and firing off sniper-style shots at Henshaw. She refused to let herself get bogged down in the fear she felt seeing Violet so close to the action – and the knowledge that she was only there because of her.

Instead, Kara took advantage of the diversion and threw herself back into the fight. After a moment, Alex was able to get it together and do the same thing. She kept herself on high alert, listening for Violet's continued shots as proof that she was ok. And while she may not have had a gun at this point, the ground was littered with rubble and Alex was able to find something to swing at Henshaw.

Kara eventually pushed Henshaw back just enough that he broke away from the physical fight and took off, hovering in the air for a moment, almost taunting. Kara quickly determined that he was scanning the warehouse for the sniper, for Violet. She hurled herself at him, taking him with her through the roof and leaving an alien shaped hole in it as she did.

 _She'll be back,_ Alex thought to herself as she watched them disappear and took off towards Violet. Violet clearly had the same thought, and met her halfway across the floor, slinging her now empty rifle across her back. The second she reached her, Alex grabbed Violet's arm and dragged her behind a half-demolished wall for cover.

"Vi, what are you doing here?" She asked, rushed and quiet. She reached for her face, checking her over for anything that looked like an injury.

"I made Kara bring me with her, I promised that I would stay outside but when I heard gun shots and fighting… I knew I could help. It might not be exactly the same thing, but I can fight. I have been for a long time."

Alex looked at Violet, almost too stunned to speak. "I don't… even know where to start. How about where did you get a gun!?"

Violet shrugged in response, "You had like eight guns in the trunk of your car."

"What? How would you even know that?"

"You _always_ have like eight guns in the trunk…"

Alex stared. Violet flashed her a smirk as she handed two guns over to Alex and pulled another set out from behind her back. Alex checked her clips and turned back to Violet. "Ok, obviously, you know what you're doing with these _—_ "

"Yes. Lots of practice. Alien apocalypse."

"Right. But you stay close, do you hear me? I want you behind me until we get out of here." Alex knew in her gut that Violet would probably not excel at following those instructions, but prayed that she would surprise her.

A crash above them interrupted her racing thoughts and she threw an arm over Violet and did her best to get back into 'D.E.O. agent' mode. Unfortunately, the crash seemed to be from a single entity, and it was not Kara. Sparks flew and shots rang out as Alex pushed Violet to the ground and dove for cover.

From where she was she fired back, doing her best not to think about how little damage she was inflicting. All at once the debris she was crouching behind was obliterated and she was blown backwards, Hank Henshaw coming towards her, cybernetic eye glowing red as he prepared to finish his assault. Alex felt across the floor for her weapons, and a gruesome smile appeared on Henshaw's face as she realized they were completely out of reach.

 **"** ** _HEY_** ** _!_** "

Alex's chest seized up in horror when she heard Violet's yell from somewhere off behind her. Incessant gunfire ensued as Violet came at Henshaw, intent on pushing him back and leading him away from Alex. Henshaw's smile contorted into fury as he turned on Violet.

 _No! No no no no no,_ Alex panicked as she scrambled to right herself and collect her guns before Henshaw could reach her daughter. Violet's bullets might be slowing him down a little, but they were mostly just pissing him off.

As Violet's aim got stronger, Alex could see sparks coming off Henshaw's face where Violet was hitting him. Sadly, the instinctual flash of pride she felt was short lived. Henshaw soon reached Violet, who was now doing her best to back away from him without turning and running. His cybernetic arm shot out and he grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. Violet dropped the gun she had left and threw her hands up around Henshaw's wrist, gasping for air and clawing for release. Unfortunately for everyone, he obliged.

Alex's head started spinning as she watched him hold Violet in the air and slam her into the ground. She briefly looked up at her attacker, dazed, as he snatched her back up and proceeded to hurl her, as if she were nothing, clear across the warehouse floor. Watching Violet tumble through the air, Alex's inner voice devolved into screaming; white hot, unintelligible, screaming.

The sound Violet made when she connected with the wall was unnatural; a hollow crashing and crunching and then… nothing. Violet just stayed where she was. No fight. No movement. No nothing. From where Alex was she couldn't tell if she was breathing, if her chest was moving. Henshaw followed Violet's trajectory, moving on her to finish what he'd started.

And Alex saw red.

Her mind went blank. Her thoughts disappeared and instinct took over. With a guttural scream she launched herself forward, throwing every bit of herself and her ammo at Henshaw. He whipped back around to face Alex, no longer looking like he was enjoying this 'game'.

The rage coursing through Alex's veins was unlike anything she had ever felt before. All she could 'think' was that she was going to destroy this man, this _thing_. Kara was suddenly on scene, finally back from whatever fight she and Henshaw had had off-site. She immediately started throwing Kryptonian punches and utilizing every bit of heat vision and freeze breath she could manage, with Alex aiding from below by riddling what was left of his humanoid body with bullets.

After what felt like a lifetime, something in Henshaw gave up. Whether it was the overpowering might of The Girl of Steel, or the unstoppable rage of a vengeful Alex, something told him this was not a fight he was going to win. He launched himself back up through the gaping hole in the roof, gone in an instant. Kara took off after him, leaving Alex with empty weapons and one thing on her mind.

She raced across the warehouse, furious at herself for not being able to move any faster. Violet hadn't moved, hadn't shifted in the slightest, since she had been tossed aside. Alex had barely been able to glance over to her while the battle had raged on, but every corner of her mind had been screaming that she needed to get to her. She dropped everything, guns clattering to the ground, and skidded onto the floor on her knees as she reached Violet's body.

 _Please god, please, please._ Alex repeated to herself, over and over, as her shaking hands rolled Violet onto her back and searched for proof that she was alive. She barely registered hearing Kara land nearby, at her side in an instant.

"I hear it, I hear her, she's alive," Kara whispered, knowing exactly what her sister was looking for.

Alex nodded, tears occluding her vision. She believed Kara, logically she understood what she was saying, but she needed to feel it, to find her daughter's pulse, to know for herself. Once she did, she released the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, a sob escaping with it. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking and they were… bloody? Shit, there was blood. Of course there was blood, Violet was so pale, how had she not noticed that? _What kind of fucking doctor—_

"Alex," Kara's voice was stern, scary, "Alex, we need to get her to the D.E.O., now. She needs medical."

Alex nodded again, unable to form words. She tore herself from Violet for a split second, looking around for something… anything… that would help her devise a next step. High expectations considering she wasn't even able to formulate a coherent thought. All she could see when she searched her mind was Violet's crimson blood and her own deafening fear.

"Alex, I mean now. She's got broken bones, one of her ribs, it looks like it's… _in_ … her lung."

The fear that Alex had been feeling only a moment ago somehow paled in comparison to the wave of panic that came over her after seeing the look on Kara's face. Broken rib, punctured lung; those meant internal bleeding and diminished lung capacity and possibly some very imminent and very critical organ damage. And that was based solely on what Kara could see. With a full workup... so many other things could be going wrong. Alex shifted her focus back to Violet, suddenly realizing that her shallow breathing was way _too_ shallow, and the ashen color on her face was only getting paler.

"If we can find something flat to put her on, big enough to put you both on, I can get you guys there _—_ "

"No," Alex stopped her, "take her. Now. We're not waiting. You need to leave me here and take her."

"Alex, I can't leave you here, she needs you. And Henshaw's gone, but if he comes back _—_ "

"Kara. Listen to me. He's not coming back. This is what's left. And you can leave sooner, move faster, if you're just worrying about her. I will be right behind you, trust me, I will be there as fast as I possibly can, but you need to take her, right now, and keep her safe and be with her until I get there. Do you understand." Alex pleaded, realizing that at some point she had come face to face with Kara and taken her shoulders in her hands.

Kara felt a tear slip down her cheek as she nodded.

"Good. I love you. Please, _please_ , keep her safe for me." Alex's voice cracked, and she and Kara engulfed each other in a hug, briefly clinging to each other for dear life before Alex broke away and pushed Kara into action. "Go, please," she begged.

Alex silently wept as she watched Kara gently scoop Violet up, limp and nearly lifeless. She saw the pool of blood where Violet had been and her breath caught in her throat. As she firmly pressed her lips to Violet's forehead, her own eyes tightly shut, she wished the moment could last a lifetime… in case…

With a hiccup, she forced herself to stand up straight and step back.

Alex watched Kara shake off her own fear and take off, openly sobbing as her sister took her daughter, her very possibly dying daughter, into the sky and away from her. While she stayed behind, on the ground, with no idea what was happening and the longest drive of her life ahead of her.

* * *

 **I'll be honest, I almost split this into two separate chapters.** ** _Almost_** **. But that felt like a dick move. And it turns out writing action sequences is more challenging than writing lighthearted angst and fluff, so I decided to make up for quality by giving you a little more in the way of quantity instead.**

 **I'm so glad people are sticking with and enjoying this story. It'll continue to be more Sanvers centric on the back half so if that's why you're still here, good call. I love mama!Alex and only feel a little bad about putting her through all this.**

 **Questions:**

\- **There's a plan for the rest of the story, it's all plotted out, just needs to be filled in. And there is an ending in place, so the story isn't indefinite.**

\- **I do know what happened to Maggie, and eventually everyone else will too. The suspense is intentional and will be resolved, I swear. I absolutely love hearing that people are coming up with their own theories, I hope mine doesn't disappoint.**

\- **Lena will show up eventually, but it may take a bit to get there. Bear with me.**

\- **On that note, suggestions are welcome, as long as no one takes offense to the more specific/detailed things getting passed over. I try to write a couple weeks out, so broad suggestions (i.e. Lena) are much easier to incorporate.**

 **See you Friday :)**


	27. Chapter 27

Alex bolted up the stairs, heart pounding and a million worst case scenarios playing through her head. Her 30 minute drive back to the D.E.O. had taken all of 18 minutes, and every one of those minutes had been spent somewhere in between catastrophizing and praying.

She had briefly called Maggie to tell her that Violet was in bad shape, but had gotten off the phone as quickly as possible to make sure the line was free for Kara. She was trying not to panic about the fact that she had heard nothing.

As Alex rounded the corner to medical, her eyes found Kara at the other end of the hall. She ran towards her, seeing Kara lean against a wall, look up to the ceiling, and slowly sink to the ground. Violet was nowhere in sight.

"Kara! Kara, where is she, what's happening!" Alex called out before she even reached her. As she got closer she noted the tears on Kara's face and the blood on Kara's… everything. Her suit, her hands. There was blood in her hair and across her face. Suddenly every part of Alex feared the worst and prepared to shut down. "Oh god, Kara please, tell me she's not _—_ "

"She's alive. They just took her, surgery," Kara's voiced faltered and she sniffled, but was still able to stop Alex mid-spiral.

The trip there had been harrowing. Every moment she held Violet she was terrified that she would suddenly feel her heartbeat stop. Initially she had done her best to keep pressure on the wounds that she could find, but time became more important when she heard Violet's heart rate start to slow.

When they had landed, she had screamed for help as she carried Violet up to medical herself. Agents and doctors were on them in a second, and Kara was soon shoved out of the way so they could get to Violet. The whirlwind of activity was overwhelming, and once Kara could focus again there was someone in her face telling her that they needed to get Violet into surgery. Now.

Kara recounted what she could to Alex, who was pacing and biting at her thumbnail to try and keep herself from losing it. "They said they didn't know how long it would take, probably hours… or how… optimistic we should be," Kara let herself fall apart again with those words, and a stunned Alex quickly joined her.

"What do I do. I don't know what to do," she whimpered, finding herself on the ground with Kara crouching in front of her. She felt herself be pulled into a hug and simply let herself go; crying into Kara's shoulder, knowing that Kara was doing the same. All at once they were both lifted off the floor and engulfed in a pair of steady arms.

J'onn had been on mission, but was notified the second Kara had arrived with Violet. He immediately returned and wasted no time finding the Danvers'. He recognized what Alex was going through, and while he prayed for a different outcome for _her_ daughter, he was fully aware that nothing he could say or do was going to help her right now. Nothing other than just being there.

" _This is all my fault,"_ he heard Alex whisper into his arms. J'onn shook his head, of course Alex would blame herself. No matter the situation. Alex lifted her head and looked between J'onn and Kara, pained face covered in tears.

"I never should have gone in there alone. I walked into that situation without backup, without enough intel, and then I made you _—_ "

"No, Alex, it's my fault. I brought her to the warehouse. I should have left her behind, forced her to stay at CatCo _—_ "

"Listen to me. Both of you. This is no one's fault except the person who did this to her," J'onn softly tried to reassure them. He didn't have the whole story, but unless Alex or Kara had physically inflicted harm onto Violet, there was no doubt in his mind that someone else was responsible here. A lot of things had gone wrong, could have been handled differently, but the one thing he was certain of was that his girls couldn't take this blame on themselves. They had enough to sort through without feeling responsible for… however this turned out.

" _Alex!_ "

The three of them turned to see Maggie headed towards them, moving as quickly as she could down the hall. Alex met her a couple steps out and latched on, breaking down the second they connected and sobbing into her shoulder as Maggie took stock of J'onn and Kara's faces. Alex eventually pulled back and did her best to wipe away her tears with the base of her thumb. Maggie's eye's stayed locked between the blood on Kara and the blood on Alex.

"Jesus, is this Violet's?" Maggie asked quietly, fear across her face as Alex looked down. It wasn't until now that she realized her hands and knees were covered.

"I—I think so. I don't really know…" she answered slowly, dazed and unfocused. She hadn't taken much time to think about herself, so she had no clue if any of that blood was hers.

"Al, we need to get you checked out, ok?" Maggie's voice went soft and she tried to steer Alex into an empty med bay.

"No, I'm not leaving. Not until I know if Violet is…." Alex's face crumpled at her own unspoken fear. And now she was going to have to tell Maggie just how bad it was. Maggie who was there for Violet just as much as she was since Violet had arrived. Maggie who had opened herself up to Violet without even knowing who she was to her. She just dove in, feet first, and let Violet in wholeheartedly.

"We'll be right here, door open, only six feet from where you're standing right now. As soon as someone comes out we'll see them, and we'll make sure they know you're right here." Maggie murmured to Alex. She had never seen her like this before, and she was praying that it was just Alex's overwhelming response to her kid being hurt. She was praying it wasn't an indicator of just how badly Violet was doing. Because if it was…

Alex nodded, letting go of Kara's hand and allowing herself to be guided into an exam room. She let herself be checked out, let them clean up the cuts and bruises they found. Every time the doctor made note of an injury she was pulled back to the warehouse; mentally comparing her menial injuries to Violet's life threatening ones. She was vaguely aware of Kara getting cleaned up and changing nearby, refusing to leave the vicinity of the medical wing until there was news.

Once she was cleared, Alex took up her position outside once again as J'onn said something about going to get an update. Alex nodded and Maggie settled in next to her. She had been waiting as patiently as she could, but she had to know.

"Alex, what's going on? What happened? Why was Violet even there?" she whispered.

"There was a lead on Cadmus. I thought it was nothing, so I wanted to just check it out and be done with it. Didn't think it was worth D.E.O. resources," she mumbled, fidgeting with her hands, "when I got there…" flashes of memory played through her mind, and Alex berated herself for every decision that could have been made differently, every point at which Violet would have ended up somewhere other than fighting for her life.

She took a breath and forced herself to continue. Maggie deserved to know everything, even if she hated her for it. "The warehouse was huge and it was basically in ruins, I couldn't clear it on my own. And you were busy, so I called Kara and then I heard a noise and it freaked her out and she came right over. And apparently Violet insisted on coming with, I didn't realize she was even there until Hank Henshaw had us pinned and she… she started shooting."

"That's why you called me this afternoon? For help clearing the building? And I blew you off…" Maggie whispered, realization hitting her.

Alex shook her head, "You were busy. And I had a backup plan, I just didn't think that Violet would be there, would make herself a target."

"I never should have let her come with me," Kara sniffled as she dropped in next to Alex. She was free of blood and thankfully no worse for the wear – physically, anyway. "She said she was afraid of getting in the way at CatCo, and she swore she would stay away if I brought her with me. I figured she wanted to make sure you were ok. I just wanted to go, as fast as possible, and I should have talked her down, made her stay, dropped her somewhere, _anything_." Kara started to devolve, and Alex placed a hand on hers.

"Kara, you couldn't have known. I told you I thought it was safe, and you still kept her outside." Kara shook her head, tears falling steadily. Alex held on to her hand and turned back to Maggie, "Violet's shots, they distracted him and Kara was able to start making some headway. I got to Violet, and then Henshaw came after me… he had me cornered, he had this look on his fucking face, this disgusting grin. My gun was gone, I didn't have anything... and then she… she got his damn attention. And he left me on the ground and went after her instead." Alex leaned her head back and looked to the ceiling, the knot in her stomach growing with each second she relived seeing that horrible attack. "I thought he'd killed her," she whispered, "She was so still and I couldn't get to her until he finally pulled back. I made Kara leave me behind and bring her here, and I wasn't sure if they'd make it. And now… she still might not."

Maggie was quiet, mulling the story over in her head. One thing stuck out to her, and she wasn't sure Alex had fully grasped it yet. "She saved your life."

Alex scoffed, "I should never have needed saving. I should have followed protocol. And she was there because of me. She's _here_ because of me. I'm sorry, Maggie I'm so sorry, I never should have let this happen." Alex dropped her face into her hands, tears freely flowing once again. She prepared herself for Maggie to get up and leave her there, furious at what she had done. Instead, she felt Maggie's arms around her, pulling her close, and she held on tight.

"Danvers, this is not your fault," Maggie murmured into her ear. "I don't blame you, and neither will Violet. This was Cadmus. And they will not get away with it." She meant it. No matter how things went from here. Cadmus was responsible; for Violet's pain, for Alex's, for Kara's, and for her own.

They were responsible. And they would pay.


	28. Chapter 28

Alex, Kara, and Maggie stayed rooted in the same spot for four and a half hours. J'onn periodically came and went, doing his best to maintain his D.E.O. duties and check in on Violet's surgery. For the most part all he was able to tell the girls was that the surgery was intricate and taking longer than expected, but Violet was holding her own. Winn stopped in and did his best to offer support, before promising that he was going to double his efforts and do whatever he could to get Violet out of here, to get her home before something else went wrong.

After what felt like a lifetime, Alex stood to meet the doctor that came through the door. Her heart pounded in her ears as she threw out one last silent prayer for good news before she was forced to face whatever it was that reality was going to throw a her. Maggie and Kara stood at either side, braced for impact.

"We're moving her into a recovery room, it'll be just a bit before you can see her." The doctor hesitated, "Why don't we go talk."

Alex felt like someone had dropped the floor out from under her. 'We should talk' wasn't generally followed by good news. _She's alive, she made it through surgery, we'll figure the rest out_ , Alex tried to reassure herself as she silently followed the doctor, gripping both Maggie and Kara's hands tight behind her. Once they were all seated, the surgeon looked Alex in the eye, stone faced and emotionless. Alex expected that, they were all good at being direct and informative without letting their feelings get in the way. Still, she couldn't help but wish there was something in the doctor's eyes that would give away… _anything_. She pulled her attention away from searching the doctor's face and forced herself to focus instead on the words that were about to mean everything.

"Violet's condition is technically stable."  
 _Technically_.

"We have her in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator."  
 _Jesus_.

"Her lung wasn't just punctured. It was lacerated, ripped open."  
 _Fuck_.

Alex closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe.

"We need to give that lung time to heal before she can start taking full breaths. And she has a crush injury to her windpipe, so for now a ventilator is best; we can keep her intubated, control her air flow and prevent her from doing any more damage." Maggie nodded, doing her best to be present and rational in case Alex was too busy falling apart. "The lung was actually an easy fix. We found more internal injuries once we got in there."

 _More. There was more_.

"The wound on her side. Underneath it her spleen was lacerated as well, she lost a lot of blood by the time we could get it completely repaired. They've already started a transfusion to replace some of what she lost. There were some smaller internal injuries throughout, and we fixed everything else that we could."

Alex watched the doctor hesitate again, and held her breath, preparing herself. So far everything they were hearing was manageable, but the doctor's pause had her worried.

"The biggest unknown right now is a skull fracture that she sustained; thankfully nothing is displaced, and the fracture itself should heal on its own. But her intracranial pressure has been elevated since she came in. We are managing it the best we can, but until she wakes up… it'll be hard to determine what we're looking at."

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose and forced herself to think. "A head injury. Could it have anything to do with when she hit her head a while ago?"

"She may have been more prone to reinjuring it. But the fracture, it was fresh. The damage we're concerned about, it's very much from today."

"She was thrown, across a room and into a wall," Alex wanted to vomit. "Hard."

The doctor nodded. "That's in line with what we found; blunt force trauma, with contusions across a large portion of her body. There are a few other fractures that will take some time to heal; collarbone, wrist, couple ribs. Nothing that will prevent her from getting around once she gets to the point where she's able to."

Kara squeezed Alex's hand. "Can we go see her? Please?"

The doctor looked up at the time before looking back to the women and nodded. "She should be set up in recovery, they may still be hooking her up to… everything. As long as you're prepared for how it's going to look, I'll bring you to her."

Alex nodded, knowing full well what to expect. There was an upside to being a doctor, being familiar with this sort of thing. She knew she wouldn't be caught off guard. But at the same time, there was nothing in the world that would truly prepare her for the reality of the situation. This wasn't some nameless faceless patient that was on a vent – this was Violet.

As she, Maggie and Kara headed down the hall to Violet's recovery room, the doctor continued to discuss prognosis. The plan was to pull her off the ventilator in a few days, and out of the coma about 72hours after that. As long as everything went well. Once she was up they could "evaluate cognitive condition". Unfortunately, Alex was familiar with _that_ sort of thing as well; it really just meant no one knew what to expect.

The doctor paused briefly in front of a closed door. "You can go in. Since she's out it doesn't mean much to limit her visitors, so it'll be tight with all of you in there but you're welcome to spend as much time with her as you need to."

"We'll be here until she wakes up," Maggie stated. No question in her mind. Kara nodded in agreement. Alex was preoccupied, concentrating on getting through that door. Her ears were ringing as the automatic sliding doors opened. From the doorway Alex could see a bed. With a figure in it. Tears blurred her vision before she could focus on Violet.

She blinked rapidly and walked towards her. There was a rhythmic hiss from the ventilator, breathing for her every few seconds. Violet, from behind the tube that was sticking out of her throat, was still sickeningly pale. Alex glanced to the side, taking note of the blood that Violet was slowly receiving.

As she reached Violet's bedside she tried to come to terms with the fact that this iteration of her daughter, small and motionless and vulnerable in the bed, wounded and fighting, was the same vibrant sarcastic kid she and Maggie had had breakfast with this morning. The same kid that had given her lip about the arsenal she kept in her trunk. The kid that had run headfirst into danger to save her ass with a smile on her face. She lowered herself into the chair next to the head of the bed and slowly reached her hand to Violet's face. She brushed away the loose piece of hair that was laying across her battered forehead. _Violet hates her hair in her face_ Alex told herself. As if there had to be some kind of justification for needing to touch her. Her hand lingered on Violet's face, the back of her fingers lightly sweeping her cheek.

Maggie held on to Alex's arm, hoping to use it to ground herself. She felt like dead weight in the chair next to Alex. Part of her wanted to run, to get this image of Violet out of her head as fast as possible. Seeing her like this… this wasn't Violet. She was completely taken with this kid, and she was realizing now exactly what that meant. It meant that this part, seeing her so badly injured, was devastating. The fear and uncertainty surrounding Violet's condition was entrenching itself deep within her. She knew Alex must be feeling the same way, and felt guilty for being grateful that she was there with her.

Kara hung back, just a bit. In her head, she was telling herself that she wanted Alex and Maggie to have a minute with Violet first. But if she was being honest she needed that minute for herself. To get her bearings. She heard Darth Vader in every pump of the ventilator, which was very much in line with how she was feeling at the moment; Devastated. Desperate. Terrified. Violet somehow looked worse than the last time she'd seen her. She looked staged; prepped and sterile. Like someone had taken away all the evidence that she was alive – the blood, the chaos – and all that was left was clammy bruising and stitches and starched bed sheets.

And a machine breathing for her.

Alex turned her head and reached her hand out for Kara. She knew this was something Kara was going to struggle with. This was a lot to take in, and that was for someone that _didn't_ have a deep seeded hatred of hospitals and a profound love for the person in it. Kara came forward and took Alex's hand and squeezed before settling herself on the other side of Violet's bed.

Now all that was left was to wait.


	29. Chapter 29

Day five.

Thankfully it was going just as smoothly as days one through four.

Violet had been pulled off the ventilator and extubated without issue, and the doctors were pleased with how she was oxygenating on her own. At this rate, they were planning to scale back the sedation and pull her out of the coma within the next 24hours.

Alex, Maggie, and Kara had stayed by her side nearly the entire time. They had all been sleeping in her room; awkwardly contorted into stiff, uncomfortable chairs. At some point, they had each tried to convince the others to take a break; to go home, shower, sleep, something. Neither Alex nor Maggie had budged ("equally matched stubbornness," according to J'onn), and Kara had eventually taken it upon herself to come and go and run errands for them both, and was currently off getting them something to eat. Which meant that a watchful Alex and a sleeping Maggie were alone for the first time, with only the steady beeping of Violet's monitors to keep them company.

Alex kept staring at Violet, playing through every moment they had had together in her head. She knew that Violet's chances of a full recovery were decent, but there was a small corner of her mind that was afraid the Violet that woke up… would somehow be different. So, she forced herself to memorize every detail of the last month and a half that she could.

Alex felt a hand on her shoulder, and realized Maggie was up.

"Hey," Alex tilted her head back and offered her a tired smile.

"Any change?" Maggie asked, groggy and sore. The bedside chairs clearly weren't made for any sort of extended use.

Alex looked back to Violet and shook her head. "Her vitals are all good, still strong and stable. No change is good."

"You looked deep in thought before, did you hear me get up?"

"Sorry, no. I was just… thinking."

"Yeah? What's up. We haven't really had much time to talk since this all started. Just us I mean. How are you holding up?"

Alex knew what Maggie meant. Kara being there with them, for them, was amazing. And everyone that stopped in to check in on them had said all the right things. But deep down Alex was terrified. And she and Maggie hadn't really been able to delve into that yet, not with everyone else there, coming and going.

"Not great… I just… I keep replaying it. I'm trying to soften it by going over every other moment we've had with her, but I keep coming back to that. To hearing her yell, and seeing Henshaw turn on her and it all just go… so, so badly." Alex could feel her bottom lip start to quiver. She was almost surprised that she had anything left in her to _feel_ , but despite breaking down and feeling like she'd had her heart ripped from her chest, she really had been holding a lot in. She could sense it all, every second, right below the surface, and knew that it was all about to come spilling out.

"I can't even imagine. What that must have been like." Maggie whispered, and she wasn't lying. She could barely wrap her mind around the story Alex and Kara had told her, and had already had almost a week to try. There was no part of her that would have been able to handle being there for it.

"Maggie, I have never felt like that before," Alex raised her eyes to Maggie's, quiet as she tried to find a way to describe it. "I've never felt that… scared? That's not the right word, I don't have any idea what the right word is. It was this horrible mixture of panic and fear and helplessness and rage. I've been afraid for Kara before, I've thought I was going to lose her… but even that. This was different, it was so much more… vivid. I never would have thought there was a feeling worse than thinking my sister was going to die. But this was… bigger, louder. I can't explain it."

Maggie held Alex's gaze, holding back her commentary and allowing Alex to continue. She had been watching her, every minute that she wasn't watching Violet. She knew that Alex was putting on a brave face, was doing her best to be strong. But she also knew that it was a facade, that at any given moment Alex was about ten seconds from falling apart. If anything with Violet's recovery went other than smoothly, Maggie fully expected that Alex wouldn't be able to hold it together.

"That moment, when he threw her… I know she must have screamed. I couldn't hear it, or I don't remember hearing it. Maybe I blocked it out. Maybe I was screaming myself…" Alex paused, putting together her next thought. "You know how they tell you that when you have a near death experience, your life flashes before your eyes? That's sort of what it felt like. Like that was going to be it, her last moment. I saw every second that I'd spent with her, and it was all so… short. And it felt so finite. Like she was being ripped out of my life just as instantly and unexpectedly as she'd been dropped into it."

That was arguably the worst moment of Alex's life. She could confidently say that. "And then this feeling just took over, this feeling that the only thing in the entire world that might save her… was me. And I knew I couldn't stop until I had done everything in my power, and then some, to get to her, to protect her."

Alex lowered her eyes again, "I know that I'm not really her mom _—_ "

"Stop." Maggie gently squeezed her hand and Alex looked up. "You are her mom. It's unconventional, and it hardly makes any sense, but the way you're feeling, the way you're responding to her and what she needs… Alex, you _are_ her mom. Even if you're not technically there yet, with all the mess of time travel… there is no doubt in my mind that you are a mother to her, and that whatever comes next, you'll continue to be that."

Alex felt a teary smile push its way through the sadness she had been about to give in to. "You know, if that's what it takes for _me_ to be her mom… then I'm not the only one. I know we don't know if you're _actually_ her other mom, but as far as I'm concerned… right now, in this time, you are."

Maggie smiled back. She'd been thinking a lot about this the last week or so, and finally felt like she could properly articulate it. "Here's the way I see it. If you're her mom, and she's here and you're taking on that role, that means that at the very least I'm her… "step mom". You have a kid, weird circumstances aside, and I'm with you. Which means I'm with her too. So even if I'm not technically her mom – or whatever – in the future, I'm more than happy to be playing the role now. Here. And that's enough, I don't need to know any more about what's coming in order to feel the way I already feel about her. She's incredible. And whether it's official in the future or not… I'm not going to let that get in the way of making the most of her time here with us now."

Alex crossed her arms and leaned back, floored that Maggie was so cool with _not_ knowing. She, on the other hand, found herself wondering exactly what part Maggie would play in Violet's life on a daily basis. "Maggie Sawyer, you amaze me."

Maggie shrugged. "I mean, obviously I'm curious. And every once in a while, she'll slip and say something that makes me wonder. But I try not to read into it. If that hologram is right, if there's any chance that us knowing too much could negatively impact Violet's life in the future… then I'm happy not to know. If it keeps her safe it's worth it."

And _that_ was the thing that broke Alex. She started bawling, but thanks to Maggie it wasn't all in pain and sadness. It was also laced with hope and love and the full and complete knowledge that when Violet woke up, and in whatever state she was in when she did, they would handle it.

After letting her cry for a while, Maggie noticed Alex's tears start to slow and reached up to wipe them away. "I am in this Danvers. I'm in it with you, with her, no reservations." Alex held Maggie's hand to her face and continued to sniffle as a few more tears slipped out.

"You better get this all out now. Tomorrow they wake her up. And there's no way I'm going to let the first thing she sees be your sopping wet face blubbering over her. That would be _the_ most embarrassing way to wake up from a coma," Maggie teased. Alex felt a laugh slip out in the midst of her sniveling and leaned in to drop a quick kiss on Maggie's smiling lips.

"Well, thankfully she's got the cool mom looking out for her."


	30. Chapter 30

Alex paced back and forth. Violet should be awake. Or at least waking up.

The doctors had stopped her heavy sedation almost two hours ago. They left a lighter sedative in her IV line to keep her calm as she woke up, they still wanted to be careful with her lung, but it wasn't anything that should prevent her from waking up.

Kara was seated right next to Violet, lost in thought as she watched Alex pace around the room. She felt something shift, and heard a small gravelly voice, mumbling almost incoherently.

"Nee… mymom- _Alx_ ,shesok. She'sok?" Violet didn't even have her eyes opened yet.

"She's right here, she's fine," Kara answered and stood as Alex made it across the room like a shot. Maggie, who had been leaning back with her arms crossed in the corner of the room and watching Alex, stood up and moved towards them.

"Hey, Vi, I'm here, I'm ok," Alex smiled with a tearful hitch in her voice. She had promised Maggie she wouldn't cry, but that promise was worthless the second she'd heard Violet's voice, soft but strong. She placed her hands on either side of Violet's face and ran her fingers through her hair. "I've got you, it's ok. Everything's ok, but I need you to go slow, ok? You're going to be fine baby, but you're hurt and you need to stay calm and go slow."

Violet barely moved her head but clearly nodded, eyes still shut as she let out a tiny sigh. Alex dropped a kiss on her forehead, as gently as she could manage. When Kara had taken her away, the last time she had kissed Violet like this… she had been so terrified that would be their last moment. Having this chance, the chance to be there on the other side, it meant everything to her. She felt Violet relax beneath her lips.

"Alex? What happened? Is she ok?" Maggie asked urgently.

Alex briefly pulled her gaze from Violet's still face and glanced up at her monitors. "Yeah, I think she just fell back asleep."

Maggie let out a sigh of relief. Kara was silently crying at the foot of Violet's bed, happy tears for the first time in days. "Alex, she asked if you were ok before she even opened her eyes. She heard what we said to her, she acknowledged it, understood. She's going to be ok."

Kara heard her own teary laugh as Maggie pulled her into a hug. The emotion and relief that flooded the room was indescribable, and Maggie, the 'cool mom' who had insisted that Violet not be subjected to blubbering and tears, was no exception. Crinkled eyes, massive grin, and falling tears. She and Kara rounded the bed to Alex, who wrapped them both in a bear hug, finally able to breathe again. The tightness in her chest, the strangled fear that had only grown since the moment she saw Violet with that rifle, was gone, in an instant. They had a long way to go, and proper cognitive tests still needed to be run, but so far there was every indication that Violet was going to be fine.

"Aryouguys seriously crying?" Violet's broken – yet somehow still appropriately sarcastic – voice floated through the room. Alex and Maggie immediately started laughing as Kara wiped the tears from her smiling face.

"Yes, after what you put us all through, we are absolutely crying." Maggie responded as she reached down to lightly place a hand on Violet's knee.

Violet slowly worked to open her eyes, even though she could barely keep herself awake. Everything hurt, and it was immediately clear to her that the shallower the breath, the less painful it would be. "mwhathappned?"

"What happened is you almost got yourself killed," Kara shot at her, "which is precisely why you were supposed to wait in the car."

Alex held out her hand, "That is definitely going to be a conversation, but not right now. Right now… let's stick with the easy stuff." She tried to walk Violet through her injuries as simply as possible, relieved to see that while Violet was lying extremely still, her face showed that she was listening intently.

"So… Kara gotme here… an I had surgry… an Ive been asleep for how long?" Her words were still slurred, but Alex was thrilled that Violet was already getting better at enunciating, at thinking clearly.

"Coma," Kara interrupted. "The word you're looking for is coma."

Maggie elbowed Kara before answering. "You've been out for a while. Your surgery was almost a week ago."

"Well shit." Violet scrunched up her face, which didn't feel great. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she blinked a few times to see if she could wake herself up.

Alex watched her closely, and knowing this was a lot to take in, decided it was better to wait on the rest until later. "Listen, I'm so glad you're awake and you're talking. That being said, why don't you close your eyes, and rest. We'll be right here. And this time, there is nothing in the world that you could say to convince me to leave you."

Alex's heart just about burst when she heard the smallest laugh come through Violet's nose as a huff. She ran her fingers through Violet's hair and watched as her eyes slid closed.

* * *

Alex watched Violet sleep, silently thanking everything she had that she was waiting for her daughter to wake up from a 'nap', and not a coma. Kara and Maggie had both agreed to go home for the night, now that she was conscious, and was ok. They had come to an understanding; that they would stay with Violet in shifts. Tonight, Alex was on duty, and tomorrow someone else would "take over". In reality Alex had no intention of going home until she was bringing Violet home with her.

Violet shifted in the bed in front of her, and the wince that appeared on her face told Alex that she was no longer asleep. She kept still and quiet, hoping that Violet would fall back asleep on her own. No such luck.

Violet opened her eyes to see Alex sitting nearby, watching her. "This isn't creepy at all." Her voice was hoarse, pained, as she pressed the button on the side of the bed to prop herself up.

"I dealt with nearly losing you, you can deal with creepy," Alex raised an eyebrow and Violet shut her mouth. No comeback needed. She knew what this sort of thing would have done to her mom, back in her own time. She had been hoping that Alex wouldn't be as affected. Clearly that was a pipe dream.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Alex shut her eyes, and took a breath. "We'll talk about it later, ok? It's the middle of the night. You just woke up, you've got a _lot_ of pain meds running through you _—_ "

"I know you're mad. That I went in there. And I know we'll talk about it later, but I scared you, and I'm sorry."

"I know," Alex whispered, a sad smile on her lips. It hadn't escaped her that Violet _wasn't_ sorry for getting involved, just that she had scared her. That would be part of the eventual conversation as well.

"I just… I wanted to tell you. Before I fell back asleep." Violet's eyes were starting to feel heavy again. She could think (semi) clearly for the time being, but knew it wouldn't last. Morphine and all that.

"While we're on that subject… of things we need to say before you fall asleep..." Alex couldn't help herself. She had been thinking the same thing, over and over, since right before she had sent Kara away with Violet. She had no idea how Violet was going to react, but she couldn't keep it in any longer. "I need to tell you that I love you."

 _Done. Said. Out loud._ Alex held her breath, nervously watching Violets face. For a smile, for her to shut down, or for something in between.

Violet just stared at her, "You don't have to say that, just because I got hurt _—_ "

"I'm not. I'm not saying it because I think I'm supposed to, or because I think it'll make you feel better to hear it. I'm saying it because I mean it. And in that warehouse… I was so sure I would never be able to tell you that," Alex's voice cracked and she felt a single tear slide down her cheek as she held onto Violet's hand for dear life. "You being here for the last month and a half… has changed my life. Which I know is the one thing you were trying to avoid, but it's too late. I love you kid, and I'm so glad that you're here _—_ "

Violet quickly glanced around the room.

"I mean, not _here_. Obviously."

Violet smiled to herself and looked at her hands. Well, one hand, one cast.

There it was, the smile Alex had been praying for. The connection, the acceptance. "I'm glad you're here, in this time, and that I get to know you."

"Me too." Violet met her eyes again, her own drooping but focused.

Alex stood, gently pulled Violet's face to her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Good. I'd feel pretty stupid if this was all one sided. Now go to sleep so I can yell at you when you're feeling better." she whispered into Violet's hair.

Violet nodded, eyes closed, and drifted off with the smallest remnants of a smile etched on her face.


	31. Chapter 31

Violet watched Alex silently stare off into space. They hadn't talked much at all today, which was a little awkward. It was the first day that Violet was down to "just pain meds," which meant she was much more alert and awake. They were no longer giving her any actual sedation, and she figured that would mean today would be the day Alex would chew her out. But so far… nothing.

Violet cleared her throat, which hurt just enough to make her cough, and _that_ hurt just enough to make her wince and gasp sharply in pain. Alex immediately caught her eye, concern on her face.

"You ok?"

"Fine." Violet forced out through clenched teeth while she tried to regulate her breathing, suddenly regretting how she had gone about trying to get Alex's attention.

Alex nodded and slowly turned back to the nothingness she had been watching so intently.

 _That's it? Two words? And now what, back to more awkward silence?_ Violet thought, annoyed.

"That's it," she blurted out, hoarse but firm, and Alex instantly turned back to her. "Just hit me with it. I know you're pissed, and I know you want to lay into me. Let's get it over with."

Alex sighed, "I'm not pissed _at_ you _—_ "

"You are too. And I'm sure it's warranted. But pretending you're not and that everything's fine is just weird. So just tell me what you want to tell me."

"Fine." Alex took a breath and let herself feel the anger and frustration that she'd been pushing down since Violet woke up. Now that a few days had passed and Violet was doing well, the fear and the panic and the anxiety (and the relief) had started to settle and give way to what was beneath it. "Violet. What you did. Coming in after us like that. It was dangerous. It was rash and it was irresponsible. You cannot be that reckless. Ever again. I need to know that you understand that."

"Wasn't reckless," Violet whispered to herself under her breath. She stared at her hands, fully aware that she deserved everything she was about to get. But that was one thing she couldn't get behind.

"What?"

Violet raised her eyes, fiercely defensive. "I said. It wasn't reckless. Selfish? Maybe. But not reckless."

Alex looked up to the ceiling and laughed in disbelief. She couldn't believe Violet was about to argue that point.

"Seriously! Now that I'm here, and I'm getting involved, what if _big_ things are changing. What if Kara was supposed to be there sooner. What if you were supposed to have more time? More backup? What if because Kara was busy babysitting me _—_ " Alex scoffed, " _—_ something happened and you got killed. I can't do that again, lose you like that!"

Alex stared at her, dumbfounded, and Violet took a breath.

Once she had collected herself, she quietly continued. "What I mean is. If my coming back here means the Dominator situation has changed… if we really can change that… then I might actually have a shot at a full and happy life. But not if you die. Going in there to help you guys, that was far from reckless. It was planned and calculated."

Alex stayed silent, watching as a steadily changing range of emotions played across Violet's face.

"I told you the normal part of my life is the part I wouldn't want to change. That's why I'm trying so hard not to tell you everything. What if I tell you something important and inadvertently ruin it; if I tell you that you end up with Maggie you could spook her or take it for granted because you think it's inevitable, and then you might _not_ end up together."

Alex felt her heart flutter. _Is she saying what I think she's saying?_

Violet immediately noticed the look on Alex's face, realized what she had said and threw out a rushed follow up. "Or if I tell you it's not Maggie so you break up before you're supposed to and you never meet the person you're actually meant to be with." _Successful backtrack? Hopefully,_ Violet thought before continuing. "I want some aspects of my life – some of the aspects that aren't alien related – to stay the same. The people I loved and the life I had. I want the next version of me to have those things. If you die then she… _I_ … won't. So, I made sure you didn't."

Violet watched the look on Alex's face change to sympathy and took a moment to calm down. She had a pretty good sense of how this next part was going to go over, and braced herself. "But if something happens to _me_ … now… that's not the worst thing, not really."

"What!?" Alex responded immediately, shock and anger in her voice.

"I know that sounds bad, but just… just think about it. I'm stuck here. Winn can't get me back—"

"He's still trying, don't write him off yet." Alex was absolutely not ok with this line of thinking, and refused to give into it.

Violet had to purposefully stop herself from rolling her eyes. She had expected push back, but at this point Alex was basically denying reality. "He's trying to adjust time travel technology from fifteen years in the future that he has no experience with. I'm stuck. I can't go back. But I can't stay here. What am I supposed to do, hang out and help raise myself? That doesn't leave a whole lot of options. Face it; now that I'm here, I don't get to have a future."

Alex felt cold. This was not a conclusion that she had come to, and she'd had no idea that Violet had been thinking this way. "It sounds like you've resigned yourself to dying here."

Violet paused, careful to pick around the more morbid words that were floating through her mind. "I'm not suicidal. I'm just being realistic. In the moment, if it's between me and you… it needs to be you. _For_ me. That's the selfish part. If I need to sacrifice myself, and my own lack of a future, so you can have one, _with_ me… and another version of me gets to have one with you. When I was out there, listening to gunshots and shouting, thinking about whether to go in or not, that was a no brainer." Violet shut her mouth and looked down.

"You… thought you were going to die." Alex whispered, barely able to hear her own voice over the roaring in her ears. "You actually expected to. And you still went in there."

After a silent beat, Violet nodded to herself. Alex closed her eyes as she tried to wrap her mind around what Violet had said. Logically she could see where Violet was coming from, she could understand the utmost black and white of it all. But emotionally, mentally, it killed her to hear that Violet had come to that decision.

"Listen to me," Alex tried to quietly get Violet's attention. She reached out and waited until she saw Violet's gaze meet hers. "We will figure this out. I promise you. There are options that we haven't come up with yet _—_ "

Doubt flashed across Violet's face. "Like what."

"I don't know, we haven't come up with them yet." Alex responded, sarcastic and snarky. It was forced banter, of course, as Alex was desperate to pull this conversation away from martyrdom and sacrifice. She wished there was a way to remove those concepts entirely from Violet's apparent list of acceptable outcomes.

Violet smiled, ever so slightly.

Alex, calm and serious, took Violet's hand in hers. "J'onn is going to get the military involved. We won't tell them _who_ you are, but he wants to tell them where you came from and what you saw. We can work with them to deal with the Dominators. And with their resources, we may be able to figure out how to get you back. Violet, there is _always_ something. So please, just promise me you won't make any more decisions like that. Well intended or not, that was a finite choice that – if it had gone differently – I wouldn't have been able to live with."

"Promise," Violet lied. She knew that if she'd had it to do over, she wouldn't change anything. But if Alex needed her to say it… to feel better about what happened… what might still have to happen… then Violet could live with that lie.

* * *

 **Unexpected authors note: My lovely little spaz of a dog completely blew out her knee this week and there are suddenly doctors and surgeries and physical therapies (and a dog that's very bored being stuck in her kennel 95% of the time) to deal with, so my free time is a little sparse right now. I do my best to post Tuesdays and Fridays, but we may fall back to once a week for a little bit while I catch up. As soon as I've got my brain/free time back we'll be on track for twice a week chapters again.**

 **Questions/Comments/Concerns:**

\- **I am absolutely loving the suggestions people are making, and kind of feel bad for wanting to use ALL OF THEM. Feels like theft, but these ideas are awesome. Some may be incorporated pretty much verbatim because they're just that good, and some will be reworked a little so I look like I have my own thoughts.**

\- **Alex and Violet's relationship progression is something I've been trying to be very careful with, so I'm glad it's looking good to you guys.**

\- **Right now I'm working on some fluff and then a ton of Maggie stuff, by way of some Cat Grant and Lena Luthor. I don't expect to write Mon-El in (at least not in any significant way), mostly because I haven't got a clue what to do with him. Didn't love the character, so I just don't know how to make him a priority. My apologies to anyone who's been waiting for him to show up.**

 **Many thanks for the positive feedback, as always :)**


	32. Chapter 32

2:10pm.

How had it really only been two minutes since she'd last checked the damn clock? Violet furrowed her brow and tried to find something to distract herself. She'd thought Alex would be back by now.

J'onn had come to Alex that morning with a mission, "quick but important" he'd said, and with Maggie's help they had _finally_ been able to convince her to take it. Violet had been up and on the mend for over a week now; she'd passed every cognitive exam with flying colors and most of her bruises were starting to fade to a putrid pea green. The doctors were even letting her get up and move around – nothing too strenuous of course. And Alex still hadn't left her side. She had literally been living in Violet's hospital room for the last three weeks. This was the first time Violet had been without Alex since "the incident".

"You know, _you_ were the one that got hurt out there, not her." Maggie interrupted Violet's unsuccessful attempt to focus on something else. She had been watching Violet worry from across the room, finally interjecting as she noticed her glance up at the clock again.

Violet looked down, almost embarrassed. "I know… I just, I keep seeing that cyborg – Henshaw – almost kill her. And it reminded me of when I actually did lose her. And now she's out there again..."

Maggie sighed and put down the report she was working on. She had gone back to work full time a few days ago, but spent every night with them and had insisted on staying with Violet today until Alex got back. Based on how anxious Violet seemed, Maggie was really glad she did. She dropped her paperwork next to her chair and made her way over to Violet. "Scoot."

Violet shifted over, slowly to try and minimize the remaining discomfort that came with… well, with any movement at all. Maggie settled onto the edge of the bed and kicked her feet up so they were side by side. "That's all completely valid you know. For you to be worried about her, about that."

Violet nodded, not convinced. She knew she was overreacting. But before she could say anything, come up with some polite agreeable response that would end the conversation, Maggie continued.

"I almost lost her once too, thought I had. And for weeks afterwards, every time she went out on a mission, every time she took a little too long to respond to a call or a text, I immediately thought the worst." Violet turned her head and watched Maggie remember. The expression on her face looked a lot like what Violet was feeling now.

It was odd seeing this side of Maggie; this side that was treating her as an adult and having an open and honest and vulnerable conversation with her. Her memory of Maggie had started to fade long before the world went to shit, and she had never seen her in any way other than through the eyes of a child. Violet was realizing, with growing intensity, just how much she wished she had had the chance to grow up with her. The more time she spent here with Maggie, in this time, the more she wondered what her life would have been like if things had been different.

Maggie watched Violet, seemingly lost in her own world, and wondered what she was thinking about. Probably Alex. "She'll be back soon, and she'll be ok. She wouldn't have left you for the first time for a dangerous mission."

Violet pulled her eyes back to Maggie's, took a second to think over what she'd said, and nodded. She was right, of course. They had barely been able to get Alex to leave the room, there was no way she would have taken a risky mission on her first venture out. Violet allowed herself to relax and let logic take the reigns as Kara popped her head in.

"Hey. You guys ok?" She held back a sappy smile and wished Alex were there to see the two of them snuggled up next to each other in Violet's bed. She would have to see if someone could pull security footage so she could show Alex how adorable her girls were being without her.

Violet looked up at Kara and prepared to cop to being irrationally anxious, but Maggie got the words out first. "Yeah, we were just worrying about Alex. First time she's gone out on mission since the attack at the warehouse." Violet smiled at Maggie, grateful that she had lumped herself into her own melodramatic concern. The validation was appreciated.

Kara made her way into the room and plopped down at the foot of Violet's bed. "For what it's worth, last I heard things were going fine. Mostly intel gathering. They didn't even need an indestructible flying Kryptonian by their side, so whatever it is they're up to it's probably not a combat risk."

Violet perked up. "You talked to them?"

"Sort of," Kara shrugged, "I asked for a mission update when I came in. No details, but they told me things are on track."

Kara squirmed a little; she was downplaying her own worry to make Violet feel more comfortable with Alex being out. The reality was she had come to the D.E.O. specifically to check on Alex and this particular mission. She was acutely aware that this was her first time out since Violet had landed herself in the middle of disaster, and she happened to know that this "fact finding mission" was CADMUS related. There was a part of her that wondered how that would affect Alex's focus. After Henshaw had nearly killed Violet they had revamped their effort to get to the bottom of what CADMUS was up to. If it wasn't personal enough before… you damn well better believe it was now.

"Do you think Winn would tell you anything else?"

"Maybe. He's not exactly afraid of me anymore though, I might have to beg," Kara answered. Once upon a time Winn thought she'd practically hung the moon, but since he'd started at the D.E.O. and come into his own badassery he was getting much better at holding his own against her persuasions.

"He's afraid of Maggie," Violet raised her eyebrows and tilted her head in her direction. Maggie pulled out her best innocent look and pretended to be taken aback by the accusation. "Do you think you could maybe go talk to him? Find out when they'll be back?" Violet asked her. "Just maybe… don't hurt him…"

Maggie looked uncertain. "I promised Alex I wouldn't leave you alone…"

"Who's alone? Kara's here, she'll stay with me." That felt like a much better argument than, _I'm an adult and do not need a babysitter 24/7_. Especially considering the last time she'd been left alone she'd literally run head first into a fire fight. "Please?" Violet asked, pleading eyes doing her dirty work for her.

Maggie rolled her eyes and smiled to herself, quietly happy to try and make Violet feel a little better about Alex's delayed return. "Fine. I will go talk to him. Whether or not I hurt him depends entirely on how forthcoming he is." _Sarcasm. Mostly._ Maggie hopped off the bed, turned to plant a kiss on Violet's cheek, and left to go track down Winn.

Kara raised an eyebrow to Violet. "Ok. What's up."

"What." Violet feigned innocence.

"You got her out of the room like you wanted. So. What's up."

Violet sighed and relaxed into her pillow, "That obvious?"

Kara's raised brow somehow became more exaggerated.

"Fine," Violet huffed before chewing on her upper lip and slowly picking through what was going through her mind. "I sort of wanted to talk to you about something. Just you." She paused and Kara waited for Violet to give her a little more to work with. "Do you think it would be wrong… while I'm here… to try and change something else? Something that doesn't have anything to do with the Dominators? If changing one thing made everything better… would you do it."

Kara was quiet. "Vi… that was kind of the whole problem with Flashpoint; Barry went back to try and fix something, one thing, and that rippled through and changed so much more than he could ever have anticipated. Changing something in the past, even if it seems like the perfect opportunity, could have a million unforeseen consequences. Just look at what happened before; you were literally sent back to correct someone else's attempt to do that very thing."

Violet could hear the pleading in her voice as she countered Kara's rebuttal. "Even though the world that I came from has nothing? No one who could possibly be upset, or even aware, that something had changed. Avoiding the Dominators will make such an enormous difference, it's basically like starting from scratch. Would it even count as a change then?"

"Violet, we're dealing with the Dominators to try and get the timeline back on track, back to what it was supposed to be in the first place. Without Flashpoint."

"But I'm here. So it's already not the same as it should have been. How do we even know what the right 'timeline' looks like anymore?"

This conversation made Kara uneasy. On the one hand, if there really was something they could change in a way that would positively influence… everything, she felt like she owed it to Violet to hear her out. But on the other hand, it would be impossible to begin to grasp the potential ripple effects… would it even be worth getting her hopes up?

Kara opted to go for honesty. "I just don't know the answers here Violet, I'm sorry." Violet looked down, teary eyed and dejected. "Can I ask why? What is it that you think you need to fix? That you want to change?"

Violet stayed silent; if she said it out loud there would be questions. Questions that she wasn't sure she could answer, especially considering how Kara had responded to her hypothetical.

So she kept her answer to herself; _I want to save Maggie._


	33. Chapter 33

Alex was itching to get back to Violet. She rounded the corner into the command center of the D.E.O., ready to debrief as quickly as possible so she could get back upstairs. The first thing she saw was Maggie, nose to nose with Winn, who looked like he was getting ready to shit himself.

Winn, quite literally backed into a corner (and definitely getting ready to shit himself), spotted Alex enter with J'onn, prisoner in tow. "See! Look, they're back now they can tell you whatever you want to know and I can keep all my fingers."

Alex smirked to herself, Maggie was clearly in the process of creatively threatening him. Which she probably shouldn't be proud of… and yet…

She and J'onn split up; he on his way to secure the prisoner, and she on her way to save Winn from Maggie. "Hey guys, everything ok here?"

Maggie took a step back, subtly looking Alex up and down for injuries, and Winn straightened himself up and smoothed out his shirt before attempting to coolly explain what he had been doing with his back against a wall. "Fine. Everything is fine. I was just trying to explain to your girlfriend – who is _not_ a D.E.O. agent – that the mission you were on was classified and she doesn't technically have clearance to even be in here."

Maggie rolled her eyes and Alex did her best to hide a grin. "Well, we should probably get her clearance then. Especially considering what we're working on is sort of related to Violet." Something clicked and Alex turned to Maggie. "Is she asleep?"

"No, she's up but Kara is with her." Alex nodded, relieved that Violet wasn't alone. Maggie shot Winn one last dirty look, which he reciprocated, and then she stepped over to Alex. "What did you find out? Winn told me you went after Cadmus?"

Alex pulled off her vest and laid it on the table as J'onn returned and she readied herself to go over their mission with Maggie. "We didn't really go _after_ them; we more tracked down one of their agents that we've been watching. And I didn't want you to worry. He didn't know much, but it sounds like Cadmus got curious why we backed off recently."

"Backed off?"

J'onn stepped in and responded for Alex. "When Violet arrived, she and Flashpoint – and the Dominator strategy – took precedence. The Cadmus investigation took a bit of a back seat. I didn't realize how apparent that was going to be to them."

Alex nodded, looking between J'onn and Maggie. "It sounds like they wanted to figure out why. Best guess is they were going to capture whoever went to the warehouse. For information."

Maggie frowned, "but you didn't tell anyone you were going? Isn't that kind of how we ended up here?"

Alex knew she was right, and would forever blame herself for her part in what happened to Violet. But for the moment they needed to be analytical and logical to go over the intel they'd collected, and her guilt had no place there. "It sounds like they were watching a handful of different 'baited' locations. Which is why I didn't see anything right away. Henshaw wasn't lying in wait, he was watching for someone to show up. And then he swooped in. I don't know, maybe it was a trap to go after Kara again – we back off and suddenly they think that's their way in? Catch us off guard?"

Maggie shook her head as she made her way through Alex's thought process. "That doesn't make sense. From what you told me… it sounds like he came _back_ for you. He actually left Kara wherever they ended up and went back to the warehouse for you."

"You think I was the target?"

Maggie began pacing, taking a page out of 'Alex's Book of Tricks for Thinking Through Something When You Don't Especially Like Where It's Headed'. "Think about it. If Cadmus was going to go after an agent? Especially if they were looking for intel. You're their best bet."

Alex crossed her arms in front of her and furrowed her brow. "So I _was_ the target."

Maggie stopped and met Alex's eye line from the other side of the room. "Cadmus lured you into a trap. And Violet just… got in the way."

J'onn, stance mirroring Alex's, agreed with Maggie. "If the mission was to bring someone in for information… Violet isn't D.E.O.. Certainly not a high enough level agent that they would recognize or have any use for her. There was no reason to spare her, to take her alive. She pissed him off and he didn't have to control himself. So she became collateral."

Alex felt her fury build; at Henshaw for what he'd done, at J'onn for reducing her daughter to 'collateral damage'. "Violet is no one's collateral. She's a victim."

"Of course she's not collateral," J'onn all but growled, low voice curt and direct, "and believe me when I tell you I want him gone for what he did, just as badly as you do. But until we can see the situation from his point of view – from theirs – we're at a disadvantage."

Alex closed her eyes, quashing her automatic defensiveness. She shouldn't be upset with J'onn, he was merely analyzing the intel, which is exactly what she was supposed to be doing instead of letting her emotions get in the way. It was incredible just how much of her brain power was suddenly taken up by Violet. "I want to go see her."

"She's been waiting for you," Maggie told her, then softly added, "she's been jumpy all day."

Alex felt a pang in her chest. She certainly didn't want Violet to worry, which is exactly why she hadn't told her the mission had anything to do with what had happened at the warehouse. They had all been extremely careful not to talk about the investigation around Violet; Alex and Maggie had decided that they didn't want her anywhere near Cadmus, and that the less she knew the better. It felt safer for Violet to think the warehouse was a one-off incident than to have to explain to her that there was a rogue extremist organization that was currently being run for the sole purpose of experimenting on and exterminating alien life on earth. Couple that with Cadmus's history as government funded lab that used to with the D.E.O. under the real Hank Henshaw… and Jeremiah's connection to them… it was a lot to explain. And Alex knew Violet well enough to know that if they told her a little bit she would keep digging until she knew everything. Which would potentially put her in the exact position that Alex and Maggie didn't want her in.

Alex looked to J'onn for the ok to leave, which he delivered with a nod. "Go ahead. I'll be up to check on you all in a little while."

* * *

Alex knocked on the door to Violet's room as she entered, a polite formality. There was no such thing as privacy in the D.E.O., so they had been doing their best to make it seem like Violet had her own space. "Hey kid, I hear you were worried about me. All good, no issues," she smiled softly in an effort to make it clear to Violet that she was fine.

Violet felt relief as she returned Alex's small smile. "Good. Glad everything went well." It didn't take ten seconds for her to pull her eyes away and start playing with the corner of her blanket.

Alex noted Violet's reservation and looked to Kara, who was watching Violet with a puzzled look on her face. Alex wasn't sure what was going on, or what she'd walked into, but it felt tense. Something was off.

"Violet? You ok?" She asked quietly, making her way to Violet's side. As she did, Maggie caught Kara's eye and gave her a questioning look. Kara looked back, wide eyed, and gave her a micro shrug, trying to convey her "I have no idea" response without alerting Violet.

Violet forced a smile before looking back up at Alex. "I'm fine. I guess I just didn't think you would be gone so long. Got nervous."

"Took a little longer than expected to get the info we needed, but we got it done."

Violet nodded in reply. No audible answer. No follow up. That initial smile and sigh, the only indication that she was relieved to see Alex, had passed, and she was suddenly quiet and brooding.

Alex wasn't particularly comfortable with this shift in Violet's demeanor. It felt like an awkward regression back to how Violet had been when she'd first showed up. When she'd been hiding herself from everyone.

* * *

Alex, Kara and Maggie quietly slipped out of Violet's room and reconvened down the hall. When J'onn had showed up to check in on them he had found an oddly uninterested Violet, and had silently agreed to sit with her after she had rolled over and fallen asleep facing the wall.

"Kara, what happened while I was gone?" Maggie asked. No accusation, just worry and wonder. "She seemed fine when I left and now all of a sudden…"

Kara shook her head, eyes wide as she looked between them. "I don't know, we started to have a conversation and then all of a sudden she just… shut down."

Alex frowned, she'd thought they were past this. "Shut down? What were you guys talking about?"

Kara thought back to their discussion, desperately wishing she had actually understood it better. "I'm not entirely sure. She asked me about changing something, but wouldn't tell me what. Just said that it wasn't related to the Dominators or to correcting Flashpoint, but that it could change everything. Then she asked what I thought."

"Shit," Maggie responded, running a hand through her hair. "I hope you told her not to mess with it."

"I did. I tried to tell her that's how Flashpoint started in the first place. That it was a bad idea to mess with anything anymore than we already were. She got quiet after that, and then when I tried to push her, to get her to tell me what she was worried about… she just… shut down."

"Dammit," Alex swore. "I hate that she can't tell us everything. And I know she knows she can't, but still. Her life would be so much simpler if she didn't have to hide everything she was thinking or feeling or remembering."

"So what do we do?" Kara asked. This was up to Alex and Maggie. It wasn't her place to make decisions regarding Violet, though she was perfectly happy to be a sounding board and whatever else they needed from her.

"We can't push it, I guess we just leave it? Let her work through it on her own?" Alex asked, truly not sure if that was the right answer.

Maggie sighed and reluctantly nodded. "I think that's our only choice."


	34. Chapter 34

Violet spent a few days in her own head before pulling herself out of her funk. She'd been trying to talk herself through how she felt about her less that encouraging conversation with Kara. She had hoped that Kara would be a little more open to the idea of fixing something, making a positive change, but instead she'd shut her down.

Which sucked. Because Violet was really starting to question her place and her purpose here.

On the one hand, getting to really know Maggie made it abundantly clear to her that her childhood had been missing something. For the most part, she could look back on that childhood with nostalgia and happiness. Hell, she couldn't even remember Maggie's funeral. But regardless of everything that happened, Alex had always hidden her own sadness and put Violet first. It was just something that she was used to; them against the world. She'd had her mom, she'd had her aunt. Growing up that way from such a young age… it seemed like that was all she needed.

However, the idea that she was in 2017 and actually had the ability to alter certain events? Could she really look her mother in the face, whether she made it back or not, and tell her she could have saved Maggie… but didn't? How would she ever forgive her? At what point was doing the wrong thing for the right reason… right? Violet understood that Kara was worried about the ripple effects, but maybe if she knew…

Violet shook her head, dismissing this train of thought.  
Flashpoint fucked up everything.  
Flashpoint occurred because someone had tried to go back and fix something.  
Save someone.

She couldn't risk making that kind of mistake, risk falling into the same situation.

Even if everything was already going to be different anyway.

Maybe now that things had changed, now that she was there, maybe that would be enough to shift the chain of events that led to losing Maggie. Maybe she would survive, be safe. And Violet wouldn't even have to get involved… fuck this sucked.

"Hey Vi, guess what?" Alex peeked in through the door and interrupted Violet's internal debate. She lifted her head and looked at Alex suspiciously.

"I get to leave?" _Please let the answer be yes_ , she begged silently. There was only so long she could stare at the same four walls without going absolutely insane.

Alex grinned. "You get to leave. Tomorrow."

Violet sighed with relief and grinned back, " _FINALLY_."

She was coming up on four weeks at the D.E.O. (granted she had literally been comatose for the first one), and had been giving the doctors a hard time about leaving since she could sit up without flinching in pain. Which was about a week and a half ago. Now at least she was at the point where she could mask the discomfort.

Alex sauntered in, pleased that not only did she have good news to share, but that Violet was reacting appropriately. She had been quiet and distant since her conversation with Kara, and it was killing Alex to see her like that and know she couldn't push her to talk it through. "Tomorrow they'll do some final x-rays, remove that cast, and spring you. Anything you want waiting for you at hom—at my place?" Alex caught herself; she wasn't sure what was up with Violet, but knew that the idea of 'home' was already a somewhat touchy subject and didn't want to add to Violet's mood.

Violet thought it over for a second. "Just my bed. And stuff for a bubble bath."

"Deal," Alex smiled, fully focused on Violet's phrasing; _MY bed_. Alex bit her tongue and mentally told herself to remember to text Maggie and see if she could grab a bunch of "Welcome Home" paraphernalia on her way home from work.

* * *

Alex and Maggie spent the bulk of the evening getting the apartment ready for Violet to come home. Kara had practically threatened to pick her up and fly her back to her apartment herself, and after attempting to fight that (losing) battle Alex finally agreed to let Kara spend Violet's last night with her while she went home.

"Al, I'm rearranging some of the furniture in the living room to make it easier for her to get around," Maggie called in to Alex, who was busy getting Violet's room ready.

"As long as you're prepared for me to trip over things in the middle of the night," she shot back, throwing the blinds open so she could clean. They hadn't touched her room since Violet had been gone, but a month of settling had left the room with a musty, vacant smell. Clean sheets, a lot of dusting and polishing and air freshening, and a really thorough vacuum job made the room a lot more welcoming. While Violet hadn't done much to make the place truly _hers_ , Alex was determined to at least return it to warm and inviting.

"Please, you'd trip anyway. You haven't spent the night here in a month either. It's practically unfamiliar to you the way it is now."

Alex paused for a moment, and then nodded to herself. Maggie was right, this would be her first night in the apartment since Violet had been injured, and as nice as it was to be back in her own home, she knew she would spend the night worrying about Violet. In fact, now that she was thinking about it…

"Do you think we should call them? Check in?" Alex peered innocently around the doorframe into the living room where Maggie was shoving the coffee table against a wall.

"No I do not. You and I both know that if _anything_ was up Kara would call you immediately. You promised that you would call to say goodnight and that was all." Maggie moved on to an arm chair, pulling it out to create more walking space throughout the room.

"I know, I just… this is her first night without me since..."

"Yes. It is. But she's an adult and has spent countless nights without you in her life. Have you seen anything in the last week that makes you think her night will be anything other than smooth and uneventful?" Maggie dropped into the newly positioned armchair and raised an eyebrow at Alex, who was now leaning her forehead against the door and pitifully refusing to make eye contact.

"Nooooo," she sighed and slowly stepped into the living room.

"That's right. SO why don't you let her and Kara have their little sleepover and you and I can have _our_ little sleepover before she comes home and you want to sleep in her room instead of mine."

Maggie was only about half joking. Alex had threatened Violet with constant supervision more than once over the last few days. She'd been antsy and moody and had taken it upon herself to start leaving her room for "short walks to regain strength." The first time Alex had walked in and Violet's bed had been empty Maggie thought she was going to have a coronary. Violet had returned less than a minute later, moving slowly but purposefully as she enjoyed the little bit of freedom that she'd stolen, but the damage was done. Alex threatened her with a 24/7 posted guard, handcuffing her to her bed, handcuffing her to _herself_ , and even taking her clothes so she would be forced to run around in a hospital gown if she tried to leave again. Violet was unimpressed, but did promise not to take off without at least telling someone where she was going.

Alex dismissed Maggie's comment with squinting eyes and an indignant laugh. _Obviously_ she wasn't planning on staying in Violet's bedroom tomorrow night… though she had quietly googled baby monitors on her way home to see if she could find a way to more… 'subtly'… keep tabs on Violet for her first few days home. Ultimately, she decided Maggie wouldn't go for it.

"You know," Maggie murmured quietly as she slowly stood and made her way across the room to Alex, "sleep isn't the only thing you've been missing out on in that bedroom for the last month. There are a few other ways I can think of to take advantage of an empty apartment."

Alex felt her pulse quicken as Maggie flashed her a grin, and all thoughts of Violet vanished from her mind. Maggie slipped past her, eyeing her mischievously as she headed into the bedroom. Alex stood rooted in place for the briefest of moments before taking off after her, careful not to trip over anything on her way.

* * *

Kara's feet were casually propped up on Violet's bed as they finished watching the chick flick that she had picked out. Usually they let Violet have her way when it came to choosing movies; partially because she was the one holed up and stuck in a bed, and partially because she had threatened to spoil the last two Star Wars movies the last time Kara had tried to make her watch something sappy. But they were running out of movie choices and Violet was a little distracted, so when Kara had started gushing about a movie she wanted to see Violet gave in without much fight. It was a newer movie, but Kara wasn't big into dark, loud, crowded movie theaters, and Violet claimed it was "before her time", so neither one had seen it.

"Wait. You're telling me that the guy gets the girl in the end?" Violet quipped. "Totally groundbreaking."

Kara rolled her eyes and grinned as the credits started. "Ok smart ass, your pick."

"Eh, would it be weird if I said I was all movie'd out? Can't focus on them tonight I guess." Violet shrugged. Kara turned the TV off and shook her head.

"Not weird at all. Too busy thinking about getting out of here?"

" _Yes,_ " Violet responded, enthusiastic to say the least. As nice as it had been to have people waiting on her hand and foot, the novelty had worn off somewhere between the seventh time she'd been woken up for vitals, and the fifth time someone had told her she couldn't lock the door when she went to the bathroom because she was a 'fall risk'. "Tomorrow this damn cast comes off and I'm going to go home and take a hot bath and then go somewhere without an escort. Anywhere. Down the hall, I don't even care."

Kara watched Violet fantasize about the comforts of home and smiled. _Home_. _Violet feels at home._ She knew that they still needed to do everything in their power to get her back where she belonged, but the fact that Violet was no longer feeling quite so out of place definitely made the uncertainty of it all a lot more bearable.


	35. Chapter 35

Alex hurried through the D.E.O. towards Violet's room, anxious to see her. She and Maggie had "accidentally" slept in, and by the time they woke up Alex was worried they'd miss Violet's recheck appointment. Maggie calmly followed Alex as they came upon Kara waiting outside her room, engrossed in something on her phone.

"Hey Kara, sorry we're so late, _someone_ didn't set the alarm right," Alex rushed to explain.

Maggie played dumb, feigned innocence and shrugged, "I swear I set it babe, maybe the power went out during the night?"

Kara, without looking up, blew Maggie's cover. "I told her to turn it off Alex, you haven't had a real night's sleep in like a month. And we were fine."

Alex shot them both a look and Maggie dropped the act. "Thanks a lot Kara, I thought we agreed to keep that between us," she huffed.

Alex crossed her arms in front of her and continued staring them both down, "you two are not allowed to gang up on me like that. It's a betrayal. Unfair and uncalled for."

"It was entirely called for. You wanted to get up at 4:30 so we could be here by 6am. Violet wouldn't have even been _up_ at 6am," Maggie argued, good-natured but very much standing by their plan.

"It's almost 1! What if we had missed her discharge!" Alex rebutted. She was thrilled that Kara and Maggie were on such good terms, but this was not what she'd had in mind when she wished for them to be closer.

"Al. _We_ are the ones taking her home. She literally cannot be discharged without us." Maggie was doing her best to be gentle with Alex's irrational worry, she knew this whole thing had taken its toll on her.

Alex opened her mouth to respond but quickly shut it. Maggie was right of course, and thankfully she was there to talk Alex down before she devolved into lunacy. The hold that Violet had on her was still new and overwhelming, and she was still getting used to it. Sometimes it took over a little too much. She turned her attention to the top of Kara's head, her face still buried in whatever she was looking at, "How was her follow up with the doctor?"

Kara distractedly updated them both, "Recheck and x-rays were good, they're taking off the cast now and going over her physical therapy stuff."

Alex nudged Kara gently. "Hey. You literally haven't looked up since we got here, what's up?"

With that Kara instantly shoved her phone in a pocket and shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing."

Alex raised an eyebrow, and Maggie quickly followed suit. "It's not nothing, crinkle is back." Kara looked down and Alex lowered her voice to offer a more empathetic approach. "Hey. Kar. What's up?"

Kara took a second, looked between the two of them and sighed as she started to spill. "It's Ms. Grant. She wants to know why I've 'neglected to publish as promised'," Kara whined, quoting the message she'd been so engrossed in, "after 'all the opportunity she has afforded me'."

"What? You haven't talked to her?"

"I explained what I could to Snapper when I told him I had to extend my last deadline. But now I haven't published anything in months and I haven't exactly talked to her about it… she's not wrong though. She let me pick whatever job I wanted and now I'm not even doing it."

"If you're worried about it then you should talk to her too, not just Snapper. You _have_ kind of been dealing with an understandably significant family emergency."

"Yeah I just… I think she might start to get suspicious of all my previously unmentioned cousins."

Alex shrugged, "So tell her the truth. You know she can keep a secret, she'll keep it to herself."

Kara laughed off her suggestion, obviously she wasn't thinking straight. "Alex, she doesn't even know I'm Supergirl. How am I supposed to explain you and the D.E.O. and time travel and a niece from the future and a near suicide mission that put her up against a murderous cyborg form a terrorist group that wants to evict all aliens from the face of the planet." _Hell of a story when you put it like that…_

"Kara."

"What."

"Ok, first off. Of course she knows you're Supergirl."

"What?" Kara's retort came out a little higher pitched than normal and she found herself responding with uncomfortable laughter. "That's ridiculous. She suspected it a long time ago, but J'onn and I convinced her she was wrong and I've been totally careful not to give anything away since."

"Uh huh. Because you wear your super stealthy glasses and you _never_ abruptly leave work immediately before Supergirl shows up somewhere. Kara. The only reason she pretends not to know is because you tried so hard to convince her she was wrong. She's respecting your privacy. And your secret."

Kara stared at Alex, speechless, and began to think back. _She did figure out Barry was the Flash without even knowing him. And that James was Guardian. Maybe she_ _does_ _know that I'm –_  
Kara's eyes grew wide as realization dawned on her; _Does she know that Clark is Superman? Does she know we're family? The things she's said about him... to me._ Her stunned look of realization immediately turned to visible disgust. _Ugh, gross. Has she just been messing with me this whole time?_

Alex stifled a smile as she watched Kara's wheels turn. She had no idea what she was thinking, but the look of sheer horror on her face was thoroughly enjoyable. "Trust me, she knows who you are. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, if she was going to do something or say something it would have happened a long time ago. Besides. Cat knows people. A lot of people. She may know someone who has a lead on Cadmus. And for you she would probably reach out, ask around." Normally Alex wouldn't ask Kara to use those in her life – her life as Kara Danvers – for information. There was this unspoken rule that Kara's life apart from Supergirl was sort of off limits. At least to the D.E.O.. But in this case, when it came to Violet… Alex couldn't help herself.

"She just basically yelled at me and told me I'm letting her down. I probably shouldn't be asking for favors right now…" Kara sighed and her thoughts returned to the text message on her phone.

"Are you kidding me. God you're dense sometimes. Kara, that text was her way of checking up on you."

"You think so?" Kara asked wide eyed, almost as if she was begging to believe it.

Alex didn't hesitate. It had clearly been way too long since Cat Grant had been in town, and Kara was obviously forgetting how to translate CatSpeak. "Kara I'm pretty sure the only people she likes more than you are her own actual flesh and blood children. Maggie. Back me up here."

"No question," Maggie nodded. "She has a super weird way of showing it, but I don't expect there's much she _wouldn't_ do for you if you needed something."

Kara's crinkle was nowhere to be seen, a grin flew across her face instead. "I should call her. Tell her what's going on. I've missed her. And her advice."

Alex bumped her shoulder into Kara's. "Go on. We'll wait for Violet here."

As they watched Kara scamper off to call Cat, Maggie shook her head. "You know, from what I've heard of Cat Grant, she wasn't exactly what people would consider a 'mentor'. Always pictured her as more of a 'Devil Wears Prada' type."

Alex smiled to herself and glanced over to Maggie, "I used to think she treated Kara like crap, but Kara can hold her own. Cat Grant was good for her, gave her a challenge to face as a human instead of as an alien for once. I know Kara misses having her around to talk to."

Alex and Maggie stopped talking as the door to Violet's room opened and Dr. Hamilton stepped out. "Oh good, I was wondering where you both were. Violet's discharge papers are ready to be signed, we were just waiting on you."

"That… is my bad. Alarm troubles," Maggie admitted.

"Not a problem, I'll go grab the paperwork and we'll get you all out of here. Not that we haven't enjoyed having a bunch of live-in Danvers' this month…" Hamilton said jokingly. Sort of. Having Mama Bear Alex Danvers and the cavalry that came with her was more than a little intimidating for her staff. She expected they'd appreciate the breathing room.

Alex grinned as she and Maggie stood and headed inside. Violet was perched on the edge of her bed, dressed to go and shoving the last of her things into the duffle that Alex had brought her clothes in when she'd first started complaining about 'breezes' and unflattering hospital gowns.

"Look ma, two hands," Violet joked, palms up with no cast in sight.

Alex knew Violet only said it while kidding around, but her heart still fluttered involuntarily at the word 'ma'. She forced herself not to dwell on it too long, fully aware that she'd get choked up and risk ruining the mood. "Looking good kid," she settled for a gentle hug and the widest smile she could fit on her face.

Maggie waited about two seconds before getting in on the action. Alex shifted the moment Maggie got close and threw an arm around her too.

Her little family. Her weird, inexplicable, time-traveled and battle-torn little family.

A knock on the door pulled them apart, and they all turned to see Dr. Hamilton waiting at the door with a folder and a… wheelchair.

"The hell is that for," Violet asked, dry and unamused.

"Protocol. You only leave this place in this chair," the doctor shot her a look that very clearly said 'do not test me'.

"Fine," Violet huffed, willing to sacrifice the triumphant exit she had planned in her head to get out of there as fast as possible, "but the second those wheels hit pavement I'm out."


	36. Chapter 36

Violet sank into the couch, careful to position herself in a way that might prevent the shooting pain and the wince that followed when she moved too quickly. She knew that Alex and Maggie were both going to be hypervigilant with her for a while, and the more she could avoid showing pain, the better it would be for everyone.

Alex rounded the couch into the living room with her arms full and immediately illustrated Violet's point beautifully. "You doing ok? Just sore? Or more painful? Your room is all made up if you want to take a nap, and anything you need is here; I have your meds and water and Gatorade and snacks and books and movies and _—_ "

Violet stopped Alex with a small smile and shake of the head. "I'm fine, just a little tired. Big day."

Alex stopped and lowered herself onto the coffee table so she was seated in front of Violet. "Very big day. And I'm glad you're home. But do me a favor; don't mask what you're feeling just because you think you're supposed to be fine now that you've been released. If something hurts, tell me. If you need something, let us know."

She had come up with her and left Maggie to park and bring up Violet's bag. They'd been watching her face in the car, and every time it turned a little too fast or went over a bump or pothole in the road Violet's face very noticeably tensed up. She thought she was so clever, making it seem like she wasn't in pain, but neither Alex nor Maggie was falling for that.

"I don't want anyone to worry about me any more than they already are." Violet met Alex's eyes with honesty. She had to keep so much to herself, which was exhausting, so she might as well be truthful about every little thing that she could.

"Kid, I promise you I will worry more if I think you're hiding something. I will do my absolute best not to hover or coddle, but that'll be a lot easier if you can meet me half way." Alex silently prayed this conversation would make the at-home recovery go a little smoother than the _last_ time they had to navigate the patient/caregiver relationship. Violet relaxed a little and nodded as the door opened and Maggie stepped inside.

"Car is parked and unloaded, you getting settled in?" Maggie asked tentatively. She figured they'd either come home with a tired Violet or a grumpy overwhelmed Violet, and the ride home was so quiet that she honestly didn't have a clue which she would be walking into.

"All good here," Violet smiled tiredly at both of them. "Maybe this would be a good time for that nap? Behind a closed door for once?" she jokingly asked. The trip home was a little more draining than she had planned for, and the idea of a bed sounded like exactly what she needed.

"That could be a great idea," Alex smiled back, "And hey, before I forget; Kara texted and she wants to come by tonight – if you're up to it," she hurried.

"Yeah for sure. Invite everyone. It'll be nice to feel like things are back to normal." And Violet meant that, truly. After so long at the D.E.O., professionally monitored and constantly visited by doctors and nurses, it would be a relief to have a relaxed and comfortable night at home with her family and friends.

Maggie grinned as Alex nodded happily, "sounds like a plan."

* * *

Violet sat next to Kara in the living room, empty plates between them, and watched the buzz through the apartment with a content smile on her face. Maggie, Winn, and James were around the table, laughing and loudly discussing something NCPD related. Alex had gotten up with a grin and an eye roll and started clearing the table, leaving the three of them on their own. They were all equally stubborn, and clearly taking up different positions on whatever they were talking about, but were still somehow smiling and agreeable.

Violet had felt great when she got up, like she had finally been able to sleep soundly for the first time in ages. Kara had already been there when she woke up, quietly hanging out with Alex and Maggie, and Winn, James, and J'onn had arrived soon after. After a potluck style dinner, it was down to an easy, relaxing evening. No plans, no structure, just everyone together and happy. Violet was loving the people watching, relieved not to be the center of attention for once. Kara was people watching too, but had settled on just one person. The peaceful happiness on Violet's face was captivating, and Kara couldn't tear her eyes away.

Alex and J'onn eventually (and inevitably) found themselves talking shop in the kitchen. It was hard not to discuss work when they were together, there was just so much going on at any given time. And with everyone else preoccupied they sort of gravitated towards each other. J'onn finished giving Alex a quick rundown of the little progress they had been able to make with their Cadmus 'acquisition' over the last few days. Alex listened intently, nodding along as she and J'onn finished up dishes, completely unaware that Violet had come up behind them to add her and Kara's plates to their pile.

"Knowing that they're responsible for the attack in the warehouse means we need to be absolutely certain that we don't make any rash decisions," J'onn murmured to Alex, head down to muffle his voice. "This mission will be done right, by the book, with no room for emotional missteps."

Violet's ears perked up, realizing that they were talking, in a sense, about her.

"Once we can confirm the information that he's given us, we can put together a team," Alex quietly offered up her own suggestion on how to move forward, "and go after Cadmus in a more substantial way."

Violet froze. There was a roaring in her ears and she suddenly felt everything around her fade away.

She knew that word.

That name.

She remembered the anger and furious determination that flew across her mother's face any time it was mentioned. She remembered how much of her life had been dedicated to taking them down, to destroying them. To getting revenge.

They were the reason Maggie was gone.

 _Cadmus_.

And it was already starting. If Cadmus was on their radar, if they were already at odds… then it was only a matter of time. _I can't save her. We can't save her. It's all going to happen, all over again._ Violet couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Any hope she'd had that her presence alone would be enough to save Maggie disappeared the instant she heard the word 'Cadmus' pass Alex's lips.

Kara, still watching Violet closely, noticed her abrupt change; a look on her face that was miles away from the peaceful and content way she had been observing everyone around her. As Violet paled, Kara stiffened. Something was very, very wrong. "Violet?" she quietly called out, doing her best not to draw too much attention, "you ok?"

Alex heard Kara's voice and turned to see Violet behind her, wild eyed and petrified. She moved to her immediately, quickly taking stock of the situation. It didn't take much for her to realize Violet wasn't breathing; was too busy lost in her own head, frozen in place.

"Hey, Vi, breathe. Whatever it is, it's ok. You're ok." Alex murmured softly, leaning down ever so slightly until she was eyelevel with Violet. Maggie turned, sensing the shift in the room. She saw Violet and immediately stood up and left Winn and James to the rest of their conversation. As she made her way across the apartment she watched Alex gently reach out and take hold of Violet's wrists, careful not to smother her. "Violet. Baby, I need you to talk to me. What's wrong." Alex was getting more and more freaked out by the second. She had assumed this was another panic attack, but this time it was different. Violet seemed genuinely terrified and shaken. This 'episode' was significantly more intense than the overwhelmed panic that Alex had seen when she'd first arrived.

Maggie reached them both and guided them into the hallway, away from worried and prying eyes. Violet finally took a breath and made eye contact with them both, suddenly aware of her surroundings. "Hey, kid. Where'd you go? What's going on?" Maggie asked softly.

"I _—_ " Violet stopped. She needed to get her shit together. She couldn't spill it all now, it would only push them to delve further into the Cadmus hole that would eventually get Maggie killed. If she was going to do something about this, if she even could, she had to do it herself. "I'm sorry, I'm ok," she forced a smile, but the look in her eyes told Alex and Maggie that she was far from ok. "I don't know what happened, I just… remembered something I guess."

Alex and Maggie glanced at each other, fully aware that Violet wasn't telling them everything. Or anything really. She was still so incredibly obviously freaked out.

Violet took a couple breaths, deep but shaky, and did her best to slow her racing heart and settle her mind. She knew when she had talked to Kara, when she told her not to change the past, that certain events, _THIS_ certain event, was likely still coming. But facing it now, being able to see that far into the future…

"Hey, guys we're going to take off, give you your apartment back," Kara poked her head around the corner and spoke softly, not wanting to spook anyone any further. She wanted to give them space to deal with whatever was going on, and knew an audience was the exact last thing Violet needed right now. "Call me later, k?" she quietly directed to Alex. Alex briefly caught her eye and nodded once before she returned to focusing on Violet.

Violet watched Kara disappear, heard a bit of shuffling, and then the front door opened and closed. She immediately inhaled, centered herself, and forced herself to meet Alex and Maggie's worried faces. "I'm ok, I just… maybe this was all a little too much for my first night home. I'm just going to go to bed, k? Sorry I ruined the night."

"You didn't ruin anything," Alex assured as Violet pulled away and headed back through the apartment. She and Maggie stood in place and watched as Violet disappeared into her room.

"What. The fuck was that." Maggie whispered over her shoulder to Alex, eyes trained on Violets closed door.

"I have no idea."

* * *

 **Uninteresting (p)update: Broken doggo has had her surgery, gotten her cast off, gotten her stitches out, AND today she finally got to lose her Cone of Shame.**

 **All that's left is a lot of boring kennel rest.**

 **Which sucks for her, but for me it means I'll have plenty of time to make sure I'm writing at a "post-twice-a-week" pace. So we can all look forward to that, hopefully from here on out with as few hiccupy interruptions as possible.**


	37. Chapter 37

Violet stared up at the ceiling. She had been able to make out whispers and quiet confusion through her bedroom door. At some point Maggie had gently knocked on the door and said goodnight.

Violet hadn't answered her.

After that she'd heard the 'flip' of a light switch and then nothing. She'd been in bed for hours now, but had yet to fall asleep. Her mind was racing.

This was the time to decide. If she could let Maggie die, knowing she might have been able to do something about it. It wasn't hypothetical anymore, she knew what the chain of events would look like from here. She hadn't realized until tonight that it was already in motion.

There had to be a way she could influence things without… _influencing_ _things._ A way to help guide Maggie's timeline without anyone knowing what she was up to. Steer things in a different direction from behind the scenes. It wasn't like she was going to be physically saving Maggie from a bullet, or pushing her out of the way of an oncoming train. It could be more subtle than that.

Maybe if she was just a part of the investigation. It was about her after all, and what had happened to her. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for her to be involved. Even without the Maggie factor. The timeline from here, maybe it was supposed to go this way, with her helping to solve the mystery surrounding her own attack. And if her involvement just so happened to sway certain events… obviously that was just a risk they would have to take. The same risk they took any time Violet went anywhere, interacted with anyone.

Violet focused on that justification and took a deep breath. It wasn't a sure thing, there was no way to know what changes would actually result in a different outcome, but this was better than nothing.

She closed her eyes and finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

Violet woke up early the next morning. Not intentionally; there were just so many times she could jerk awake, look at the clock, and then force herself to fall back asleep. 5:40am would have to do.

She quietly got up, not sure if anyone else was awake. As she got dressed she mentally ran through her plan. It was simple really; she just needed to convince Alex and Maggie that she could help the D.E.O. investigate and then from there… she wasn't sure what. But she could do something. She had to.

The apartment was quiet as she tip-toed into the kitchen. The cool morning sun was breaking through the closed curtains, and the silence would have been peaceful and calming if Violet wasn't already so completely preoccupied. She threw together a pot of coffee and set it to brew. She could pretend to make breakfast for everyone, but who were they kidding. Violet's talent for cooking ended somewhere between toast and scrambled eggs. Bagels certainly wouldn't impress anyone, but they were a much safer bet.

As she pulled a bread knife out of the drawer she heard the door to Alex and Maggie's room creak open and footsteps soon followed. She turned to find two very hesitant faces slowly coming towards her, cautiously analyzing the scene in front of them before trying to start a conversation.

"Morning," Violet said, a tense smile on her face. She was quite self-conscious about the way things ended last night, and knew a forced cheerfulness was not going to be believable. She went with humility and subtlety instead.

"Hey," Alex responded tentatively, "you uh, you sleep ok?"

She and Maggie stayed on the other side of the kitchen island; they had both agreed to give Violet space this morning. As much as Alex had wanted to start the morning by engulfing Violet in a hug and showing her she was surrounded by love and support and understanding, she was easily convinced that was not the way to approach things. Violet nodded and brought plates and bagels over to the breakfast table. Maggie slipped past her to grab coffee and Alex stopped at the fridge for juice and cream cheese before meeting them both at the table.

They all ate in silence, Alex and Maggie both mentally evaluating the situation. Violet was definitely playing that everything was fine, though after how badly last night imploded they both knew there was no way she was doing as well as she wanted them to believe.

Violet watched Alex and Maggie slowly make their way through breakfast and decided that this was probably the best time to bring it up. She cleared her throat and took a breath before jumping in. "So, I was thinking." Maggie stopped mid bite and Alex watched Violet's face as they waited for her to continue. "I was thinking that maybe now that I'm doing better… I could help out at the D.E.O.. Earn my keep a little. More than just telling you guys about the Dominators I mean. Maybe start by helping with the Cadmus investigation."

Alex froze. "Where did you hear that word."

Violet shrugged, careful to keep her own knowledge of Cadmus out of it. "You said it last night. When you and J'onn were talking about the warehouse."

Alex mentally put two and two together; the conversation she and J'onn had been having, immediately before Violet's episode. That must have been what set her off, hearing them bring up the warehouse attack. They really hadn't talked much at all about that day, did it just catch her off guard to hear them discuss it? Bring her back to that moment? Maybe they had been ignoring some post-traumatic stress…

"I didn't realize you heard that," she stated quietly.

"I did. And I know you're tracking them down because of what happened… to me. So. I should help."

"No. Absolutely not." Alex was firm. "They've already seen you, that alone is more exposure than I ever wanted you to have with them. And that's completely ignoring the part where they almost killed you."

Violet kept her cool, she knew convincing them wouldn't be easy. She tried a different approach; pitiful. "But what about for… closure."

"Vi. That is the worst reason to get involved in something like this; emotions cloud judgement and put everyone at risk. Besides, the Dominator briefing is coming up, you'll be needed there." Alex had logic on her side, and hopefully distracting Violet with a military operation would keep her away from Cadmus.

"I know that, and I'll tell them whatever they want to know—"

"Except maybe not your last name," Maggie interjected. The D.E.O. had shared where Violet was from, it was going to be the only way to explain how she knew what she did. But she and Alex had been very clear that they wanted her identity protected as much as possible.

Violet nodded. "Right. Secret Danvers. Got it. Just… don't keep me out of the loop with the Cadmus stuff, ok? It happened to _me_ , I want to help. Why can't I."

"Because I don't want you in the field, and I don't want you visible to anyone that wants to hurt me or the D.E.O." Alex told her. If she had her way Violet would never set foot in the D.E.O. ever again, not after what happened. She wanted her work and her daughter to be completely separate from each other. Hopefully once the military got involved Violet could step back from everything, even the Dominator investigation. "I know you want to help, but I don't want you anywhere near anything that has even the remote possibility of turning dangerous ever again."

 _Well that's just unreasonable_ , Violet thought, getting frustrated. "I can hold my own you know," she huffed.

"You nearly died the last time you tried to hold your own," Alex shot back. Maggie raised her eyebrows behind her coffee mug, not especially sure that was the way to go here.

"We talked about that," Violet mumbled.

"Yes," Alex sighed, "I'm aware, and I know the circumstances surrounding that day were… complicated. And I know that you've been taking care of yourself for a long time now… but that doesn't mean I want you in a position where you _have_ to hold your own."

Violet stood up, annoyed that this conversation was not going her way. Not even close. _Now what?_ She thought as she stalked off with her plate, dropped it in the sink, and slipped into her room, shutting the door loudly behind her.

Alex rubbed her face with her hands and looked to Maggie for back up. Instead she was faced with a look that was a little less 'I got your back' and a little more 'well that went well I hope you're happy'. Alex dropped back in her chair, her defenses faltering as she took note of the way Maggie was looking at her. "Come on. Tell me I'm not wrong here. We talked about this."

Maggie shrugged and set down her mug. "I mean, I certainly don't think she should be busting down doors and leading missions…"

"But."

"But. She's not a little kid. And what's more, she's not _your_ little kid."

Alex looked back at her; her feelings hurt and her face showing it.

"I didn't mean it like that," Maggie reached out and placed a hand over Alex's. "What I mean is… the version of her that was a little girl who had to listen to her mom, that's just not the relationship you guys have. She's not there anymore, and you're not there _yet_. I know you're just trying to protect her. But she's an adult. And she's tough and she's strong and she's stubborn and she has a mind of her own – all of which seems _extremely_ familiar at times – and you telling her no isn't actually going to stop her. Treating her like she's made of glass is only going to make her resent us."

Alex sniffled and tearfully met Maggie's eyes. "I just don't ever want to be in that position again. Where I'm afraid for her like that. Where I think I'm going to lose her." _Or where I think she might choose to sacrifice herself._ "Why would I want to add even the slightest chance of danger to her life," she whispered.

Maggie pulled Alex's hand up to her lips and kissed it softly. "You wouldn't. But it's not up to you, to us. At least if she's at the D.E.O., working on something with you, you'll be able to keep her safe."

Alex closed her eyes. She hated this idea. But Violet was stubborn, and Maggie was right; it would be safer for Violet if she could be part of this whole thing side by side with her then to put herself in more danger by going off and doing something stupid on her own.

Alex sighed, quiet and defeated. "If she wants to work with us at the D.E.O. there are going to have to be some serious ground rules."


	38. Chapter 38

"So that's the deal," Alex stated from her spot on the foot of Violet's bed. "You don't go into the field. You listen when I tell you something is off limits. And you don't go looking into anything on your own. At all."

Violet nodded vigorously. When Alex had knocked and come into her room with Maggie, Violet had been fully prepared to go another round. But instead the conversation had been a relief. Without the official ok to be a part of the formal investigation Violet had no idea how she would be able to subtly affect change. Any other idea she'd come up with had been direct and intentional. Exactly the things that made her worry about a Flashpoint 2.0 type situation.

"Deal." Violet agreed. The determined look on her face as she said it made Alex a little uneasy, though she couldn't pinpoint why. "When do I get to start."

"Let's worry about Cadmus in a little bit. First thing we need to do – when you're ready – is prep you for the meeting with the military liaisons. J'onn is going to want you to go over what you can remember with them, but it'll be professional and official. We'll spend a few days at home—"

"We don't have to, I'm ready." Violet was eager to get through this project and on to the Cadmus one. And only partially because of Maggie. In all honesty, she was tired of going over and over her Dominator 'testimony'. She had remembered and relayed what she could, and couldn't help but be a little uneasy about the whole thing. The sooner there was a plan to deal with it, and not just a general idea, the more comfortable she would be.

"Vi," Maggie started, "you can take a few days. Relax a little."

Violet sighed to herself, "I've been relaxing and resting for the last month. I want to _do_ something."

Maggie and Alex looked at each other. They both understood where Violet was coming from, it wasn't like either of them enjoyed being cooped up and side lined either. That being said, Alex wasn't especially ready for Violet to jump right into things. "Let's use the next couple days and this weekend to build your strength up. Maybe we can talk about you coming in with me early next week."

"But—"

"Violet, you needed to take a nap after a car ride yesterday. Give yourself a break."

Violet opted not to argue. They weren't wrong. Being freshly sprung from the hospital was exhausting. Maybe she could use a few days to get herself back to functional. "Ok. So what are we doing today then? Something easy. Low impact."

Maggie shrugged and looked to Alex. "Well, I was going to make a grocery run. Haven't needed a fully stocked refrigerator in a month, so unless we're all ok with takeout for every meal someone needs to go shopping."

Violet perked up, "That sounds like a good first step. Quick trip to the store? I'm in."

Alex squirmed a little. She knew logically that Violet was on the mend, but was still a little uneasy about her being out and about. _Even_ _if_ it was just to the store. And _even_ _if_ she was with Maggie. "I'll come too," she blurted out. Maggie furrowed her brow ever so slightly, wondering why Alex was so quick to jump in. Obviously a grocery shop was not a three person job. Alex took notice and covered, "That way I can be sure you don't try to replace too many things with vegan options," she teased.

Maggie's small frown stayed put, but she nodded and played it off. "Ok, grocery shopping it is."

* * *

Maggie was quiet the rest of the morning. They gave Violet plenty of time to shower and get dressed at her own pace, and loaded into the car when she was ready to go. The trip wasn't far, which was a relief for all of them. Violet still wasn't especially comfortable in a moving vehicle, and neither Maggie nor Alex wanted to watch her grimace through the pain of being jostled around, regardless of how carefully they tried to drive.

They parked as close to the front door as they could manage, trying to minimize the distance Violet would have to walk. Once inside, Violet insisted on pushing the cart – mostly so she had something to lean on. Alex and Maggie both noticed how slowly she was moving and how much she seemed to relish those moments where they stopped to peruse a shelf. They consciously made it a point to spend a little more time comparing brands so Violet could stop and rest.

As they made their way towards the front for produce Violet stopped them. "I have to go to the restroom, I'll be back in a few minutes." _Or more accurately I need to freaking sit down for a bit._

"Ok, do you need someone to go with you?" Alex asked, only half joking.

"What? No! I can pee by myself, I promise." Violet rolled her eyes and started towards the women's room.

"We'll be over here, picking out apples or something," Alex called out as she watched Violet walk away. She turned back to the cart and pulled it along as she and Maggie made it six whole feet from the entrance to the restrooms and stopped near the pears.

Alex ran her thumb over each piece of fruit before deciding if it was worthy of being chosen, periodically glancing up to see if Violet was heading their way. With every turn of her head, she briefly settled on Maggie's face, lost in thought and clearly preoccupied with something. "Hey, you ok? You've been really quiet all day," Alex asked her softly.

Maggie cleared her throat. "Yeah, I just… we would have been fine on our own you know."

Alex averted her eyes, redoubling her focus on the pear in her hand. "I know. It's just…"

"Just what? Do you… do you not trust me with her?" Maggie asked, quietly trying to hide her hurt at the mere possibility that Alex might not consider Violet safe with her.

"What!? No Maggie, of course I trust you? How can you even ask that?" Alex's head snapped up, shocked that's where Maggie's mind went.

"I dunno, it just seemed like the second it was just going to be the two of us you had to make sure you'd be there too. Like it wasn't enough for just me to take her."

"No, Maggie. God no." _Nice job Danvers._ "It had nothing to do with you. Or her even, not really. It's me. I'm in my head and the second I can't see her I start to worry. And that's _in_ the damn house. When she was talking about _leaving it_ … even just to go shopping with you. It was like my chest tightened up. And all I saw was her walking out the door and not coming back. I know it's irrational, not to want to let her out of my sight. I just don't know how to do this yet. I'm so sorry that's what you thought."

"Yeah?" Maggie asked, meeting Alex's eyes.

"Yeah."

"Good," Maggie relaxed a little. "I started thinking that maybe since we know you're her mom, but that I might not be… that maybe you felt like you had to be there. Like I wasn't enough. Like only her _real_ mom was enough."

"Maggie Sawyer, I swear that is the stupidest thing you have ever said."

"Hey. Don't call your girlfriend stupid Danvers, it's considered rude." Maggie huffed indignantly, though she was working pretty hard at containing the relieved smile she felt creeping up.

"First of all, I didn't call _you_ stupid, I called what you _said_ stupid. And second of all, I'm sticking by it. I think it's clear that whatever things look like five or ten years from now, right now it's the three of us. All three of us. Not her and I and then you. She needs you every bit as much as she needs me right now. The only reason I felt like I had to come with was because I need her too. For my own piece of mind. At least for a while. The idea of her being off somewhere – anywhere, and with any _one_ – scares the shit out of me. And I start thinking and imagining the worst—"

"So what I'm hearing is that you're crazy but if you can follow her around like an over protective helicopter mom then you'll be slightly less crazy."

"Yeah that's about it."

"Fair enough."

Alex grinned, rolled her eyes, and pulled Maggie into a hug. Holding her close, Alex sighed softly, hating that she'd inadvertently made her feel so… worthless. Maggie returned the hug and lifted her face to give her a kiss, and Alex instantly felt better.

Violet, observing her mother's from afar, smiled to herself. There was a bittersweet ache in her heart, watching them like this. Seeing them together; comfortable, easy, in love. She wondered if this was what her life would have looked like if Maggie had survived. If there would have been stupidly mundane errands, quiet arguments in public followed immediately by forgiveness and warmth.

Violet couldn't help but give in to the selfish line of thinking that followed almost immediately. What would her life have been like if Maggie had lived to raise her? If Alex had been allowed to spend her life with the woman she loved? If Kara hadn't had to jump in and pick up the pieces, if she'd been able to live a more independent life. Not that Violet didn't love her aunt. She did. Kara was one of the few people that Violet had grown up relying on, knowing she could completely and totally count on. But Kara's life had been put on hold when Maggie died. When Maggie was killed. And Violet hadn't let herself realize that until now. Until she had seen pre-devastation Alex, and met pre-tragedy Kara. The versions of her mom and her aunt that made it through to the formidable years of Violet's life had never seemed damaged until she got to see what they looked like whole.

And there was no way that Violet was going to let their lives implode again. Not after seeing who they all were before.


	39. Chapter 39

It took almost a full week for Violet to convince Alex that she was ready to come in with her. They reaffirmed the 'rules' multiple times, only most of which Violet actually intended to follow…

When she had arrived at the D.E.O. that morning, she had quickly been ushered into a conference room where J'onn was waiting. Upon seeing her step inside, he nodded in her direction and stood. "Good. I was beginning to wonder if Alex was actually ever planning to bring you back here."

Violet stifled a smile, picking up on the sarcasm in is voice. She couldn't say she hadn't had the same concerns over the last week. Multiple times. Alex shifted slightly, still not entirely on board with this whole 'D.E.O. consultant' idea. At least with the focus on the Dominators she could at least pretend they were easing into things.

"Is there a set date for this briefing?" she asked, hoping for an answer as far out into the future as possible. At the moment, nothing Violet was going to be involved in was anything other than informational. Maybe they could keep it that way for a while.

"Nothing set. I have been in communication with both General and Major Lane, and they have agreed to come in with their teams as soon as I give them the ok."

"How about tomorrow?" Violet suggested. "It's not like I'm going to need a lot of time to go over what I'm going to tell them."

 _Dammit_ , thought Alex. _That's not nearly long enough to keep her occupied._ She hoped that J'onn would insist on pushing it back further.

No such luck.

"If we get through your testimony without issue I'll call them in for tomorrow or the day after. The sooner we get this sorted out the better."

Alex swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. It wasn't this part she was concerned with, she knew Violet would be fine in the briefing. She had no doubt about that. She just also knew that the sooner they put the Dominator situation to rest, the sooner Violet would insist on moving on to Cadmus.

"Agent Danvers, I believe agents Vasquez and Schott are putting together some information for you on an unrelated matter. Violet and I will take care of things on this end and come find you later on." J'onn knew Alex would much rather stay with Violet, but he needed his agents focused on the other issues they were facing at the moment.

Violet watched as Alex wrestled with the idea of arguing, but ultimately forced a smile and turned to leave. Violet couldn't help but feel a longing, knowing that Alex was most likely on her way to start working on the very thing she felt she needed to be a part of.

"Violet," J'onn urged, more gently than how he had been with Alex.

Violet bit the inside of her lip and looked back to J'onn. "Sorry. Where do we start."

* * *

Violet caught on to J'onn's direction almost immediately. They agreed on minimal details, and the broadest information she could manage;

She was sent from the future.

An alien invasion had escalated to the point of impasse and the human race was not surviving it.

The solution needed to be peaceful negotiation, not brute force.

If Violet and the D.E.O. could convince the military that this was the way to go, they would have a fighting chance.

Things that were off limits? Violet's true identity, the eventual demise of any one individual person, and anything else specific enough that someone could try and alter it if they wanted to.

Honestly, getting Violet to fully understand those terms had taken no time at all. J'onn spent the rest of the day going over every question he could foresee her being asked at the briefing, and making sure she didn't slip up or get flustered under pressure.

She didn't.

* * *

The next morning, Violet and Alex arrived at the D.E.O. early. Maggie had considered taking off work to be there with them, but they decided that might look a little suspicious. Coming in separately and towards the end of the day would seem far more ordinary.

Violet yawned. She hadn't slept especially well that night, and once she was up there was no reason to avoid coming in a little early anyway. She wasn't exactly _nervous_ , but this was definitely a situation that she'd never been in before, and it was a pretty important situation that she couldn't afford to screw up. The fate of the world could quite literally depend on it.

Ok fine. So she was nervous.

The first to arrive were General and Major Lane. That's how they were introduced to Violet. She watched Alex and J'onn interact with them; guarded hostility towards the General, and a friendly familiarity with the Major. 'Lucy,' Alex called her. Violet vaguely recalled hearing about a Lucy…

Once the rest of the attendees arrived, J'onn cleared his throat and called for everyone's attention.

"As some of you know, we recently found ourselves in a situation that we have no protocol for. Based on what we've learned so far, the D.E.O. felt it best to get the country's qualified military personnel – all of you – involved. Today's briefing will primarily take place between you and Violet. She arrived here after being sent back from roughly twenty years in the future to correct an alteration to our timeline that ultimately leads to our demise."

Alex watched as the quiet murmuring through the room made it clear that neither Lucy nor General Lane had briefed their men on the exact nature of this meeting before their arrival. She stood at the back of the room, and briefly glanced around before settling back on Violet's face towards the front.

Then J'onn stepped back and Violet had the floor.

"That, in the broadest sense of the story, is correct. My name is Violet. I was sent back to 2017 with a message to deliver to those who could affect change. In the relatively near future, there will be an invasion by an alien species known to us as the Dominators."

Alex watched her daughter. She'd heard this story so many times, and knew the words by heart, but watching Violet tell it was always captivating. Seeing her in front of so many men, professional, political, and military men, and still taking command of the room filled her with pride. Violet was clear and concise, composed and direct. When she finished her own recap and the questions began, Violet impressed the room by handling herself with poise and professionalism.

Alex felt an elbow brush hers, and tore her eyes away from Violet to meet Lucy's.

"J'onn told me about what she's been through over the last couple months," she whispered. "Sounds like she's had a rough go of things. He said Cadmus got her?"

Alex nodded, _so_ looking forward to reliving this again. "She thought she was protecting me. Perched herself up as a sniper. Tried to take him out. Unfortunately, that got his attention and he ended up going after her instead."

"He?" Lucy asked softly.

"Hank Henshaw. The real Hank Henshaw."

"Modified Hank Henshaw? Cyborg Superman?"

"That's the one," Alex sighed, tilting her head towards Lucy.

"Damn. It takes a serious death wish to go after him." Lucy whispered. _You have no idea,_ Alex swallowed and tried to forget. "How old is she?"

Alex threw a skeptical look to Lucy, "She's nineteen or twenty. Why."

Lucy shrugged. "Because she's hot and she's a badass. That's kind of my type… little young though."

Alex forced herself to remember that she was in a room full of military personnel and in the middle of a critically important meeting that could very well determine the future of the human race. So she did her best to shut down her sudden and overwhelming mama bear instinct and consciously stop herself from losing her shit. "Absolutely not. She's… she is way too young for you. Leave it alone."

"Wow, Danvers. Intense much?" Lucy murmured. "You've got Maggie, it's not like you're interested."

With that comment Alex grabbed her arm and slipped out the door, dragging Lucy with her. Once outside and a little ways down the hall, Alex backed her into a corner and shoved a finger in her face, "Listen to me, you cannot say anything, not to anyone I swear—"

"Oh my god Danvers, did you cheat on Maggie with the little time traveler?" Lucy teased. Obviously that was something Alex would never do, Lucy knew her well enough to know that.

"What!? Lucy! No! That is disgusting." Alex felt nauseous as she tried to push that image out of her mind as fast as possible. "Look, she's not just 'some time traveler' ok? She's my kid. Who just so happened to travel through time."

Lucy paled. "What."

"Yeah. Apparently that's how she got sent back, _I_ did it. And I swear to god if you tell anyone who she is I will hunt you down myself—"

"Jesus Alex, of course I won't say anything." Lucy shot off before dropping her voice to a soft murmur. "Holy shit… how long have you known?"

Alex started to relax a little, relieved Lucy was taking this seriously. "She told us when she got here."

"Who else knows?"

"Me and Maggie, Kara, J'onn and Winn. And Clark. I don't know if he told Lois."

"Well, she hasn't said anything about it to me, so if she knows she's keeping it quiet."

Alex nodded, a little relieved. "We kept it out of the reports, and especially now that Cadmus has seen her… no one else can know. It would put her at even more risk."

Lucy frowned and whispered, "You don't think they know who is she is do you?"

"No. I think if they did they wouldn't have been so," Alex gritted her teeth, "careless with her."

Lucy nodded, frowning to herself. "You're probably right. She'd be a target, even if they only knew part of her story; time traveler _or_ your daughter."

Lucy's gaze snapped up to meet Alex's, eyes wide. "Oh god. She's your daughter. And I…"

Alex raised an eyebrow, leaned back and crossed her arms. "Uh huh."

"Listen forget what I said," Lucy begged, "obviously."

"Forget what? What did you say?" Maggie eyed the two of them suspiciously as she rounded the corner behind Lucy, supposed to be on her way to Alex's lab.

Lucy turned bright red, eyes still wide and trained on Alex.

"Lucy here thinks Violet is hot," Alex stated factually, eyebrows raised with accusation. "Her only concern is that she might be a little young for her."

Maggie immediately went on the defensive, unable to help herself. "No. Not a chance. Off limits."

"So," Alex started, "I told her who she is."

"You did what?" Maggie hissed.

"She will _not_ say anything." Alex insisted. Pointedly.

"I can't believe I was about to go hit on your kid." Lucy mumbled, face in her hands. "We are never speaking of this ever again."

Violet popped her head out and made her way over to the women. "Everyone in there is talking for a minute before we start back up again. Why'd you guys leave?"

"No reason." Alex smiled at her sweetly, "just wanted to catch up with Major Lane for a minute."


	40. Chapter 40

The rest of the briefing went well; when Violet had returned with Maggie, Alex and Lucy in tow they had resumed the Q&A portion of the meeting, and Violet answered each and every question flawlessly. At the conclusion of the briefing, the majority of her audience left the room in either a stunned silence or with hushed whispers amongst themselves.

Once the coast was clear, both Alex and Maggie came up to hug Violet, who grinned as she exhaled forcefully, relieved that this part was over. Maggie hung by Violet's side as J'onn came over to shake her hand, and the two of them let Alex slip over to Lucy while they showered Violet with praise and pride.

Alex caught Lucy packing up a briefcase and quietly stopped her before she could continue and take off. "Listen. Before you go. There's something else that I need to talk to you about. About Violet."

Lucy held her breath, mildly concerned that she was about to get her ass chewed.

"When she arrived here, she was sent with instructions to get her back. They didn't work." Alex watched Violet across the room. "We've had Winn working on reverse engineering the device that got her here… but so far no luck."

She knew this was the right thing to do. Sending her back. But it still killed her to think about the day when they'd lose Violet. It didn't matter that they were going to be losing her to her own time. It didn't matter that this was the way it was supposed to be, and that they had known that from day one. All that mattered was that at some point, hopefully in the near future, Violet would be gone.

Lucy thought it over for a second, watching the sadness on Alex's face. "We have a science division. I doubt that any one person there is smarter than Winn, but maybe with more people looking at it, with more mind power…"

Alex swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. What I was going to ask you. I need to make sure she's safe. I need to get her home."

"I'll make sure you have access to whatever resources you need. Have you reached out to anyone else?"

"Kara talked to Clark, but the tech that got her here is futuristic, not alien."

Lucy wasn't surprised; not that they had talked to Clark, and not that he hadn't been able to help. This situation was something far beyond anything she expected he would be able to fix for them. "There are some private sector companies that might be able to jump on board. Government funding is certainly more generous when it comes to the military – especially when it comes to covert projects – but we still fall short of what some of the more advanced tech companies have to work with."

Alex shook her head, "No. That would involve revealing too much to too many people. Even if just the knowledge that someone arrived from the future got out… it could be dangerous for her."

All of a sudden Kara burst into the room, her suit a little askew. She stopped short once she noticed the eyes on her and took a second to adjust and compose herself as she started inside. Alex raised an eyebrow as Kara got close enough for Alex to hear her whisper. "Sorry, I was chasing a lead and almost forgot to change into Supergirl before coming in."

Alex smiled and shook her head. After Kara's talk with Cat she had decided to dive head first into a story, and was thrilled to be busy working on something again. When Kara was in a funk it wasn't always immediately obvious to the untrained eye, but Alex could usually tell when Kara was getting antsy, when she needed to focus on something. And after spending almost a month with Violet, around Violet, or thinking about Violet, Kara needed to refocus. Thankfully, an honest conversation and pep talk from Cat Grant had put Kara back into the right frame of mind and she was flourishing once again.

"So? How'd the briefing go?" Kara asked excitedly. "I saw the General leaving on my way in, he seemed more perplexed than angry, which seemed like a good sign."

"She kinda killed it," Alex answered proudly, glancing back over to where Maggie, J'onn and Violet were talking. Violet looked back and met Alex's soft smile with one of her own.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "She convinced them they need to be ready to act. But peacefully. Now the military will come up with a strategy, and find a way to minimize the threat of an extreme response."

"She's come a long way on that one. Initially we needed to convince _her_ that a peaceful approach was the only way." Kara recalled, remembering how hard it had been to ease Violet into the mindset of prevention over retaliation.

"Really?" Lucy was surprised to hear that, with how strong Violet's argument for peace had been. "Well, she did a great job."

Kara puffed up a little bit, proud of her niece. "She's a smart kid, and she knows what's at stake more than anyone. I'm not at all surprised."

"Of course not," Alex's smile stayed in place as she turned back to the conversation in front of her, "look at her family. She's got brilliance in her bones." Kara's eyes went wide and she exaggeratedly nodded towards Lucy in case Alex forgot who she was talking to.

"It's fine, she already knows." Alex threw a side eye to Lucy, who found herself looking at the floor and carefully avoiding any and all eye contact.

"Wait she does? Alex, I'm so sorry," Kara rushed, immediately worried it was her fault, "Clark swore they wouldn't say anything, I had no idea that Lois would tell her—"

"She didn't," Alex stopped her. "I did."

Kara frowned, not understanding. "I thought you didn't want anyone else to know. That's why I haven't told James or Lena. Even with everything that happened… they still just think my cousin was in a car accident…"

"Well, there were extenuating circumstances." Alex started to explain as Lucy turned beet red. Again.

Kara waited for Alex to finish her story and looked between the two of them. And then over to Violet. And then busted out laughing. Lucy straightened herself up and tried to shake the heat from her face. "Oh, come on, it's not that funny."

And with that Kara fell into hysterics. "You have no idea what I would have given to see your face," she cackled to Alex. Kara looked up to see that Violet and Maggie had stopped chatting and were watching the three of them inquisitively. Still snickering to herself, Kara made her way over to tell Violet how proud of her she was. And maybe to tease Maggie about Lucy and Violet a little bit while she was at it.

"Thank you for that." Lucy sighed. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to live this one down.

"No problem." Alex answered, pleased with herself. She barely had a handle on the instinctive maternal worry that came with looking out for Violet, and dealing with any additional complication – like someone showing interest in her – was a situation she was quite happy to shut down.

"Mhm. I need to get back to base. We're all going to have a lot to discuss after that meeting. I'll keep you posted, but we've got it from here. You can tell Violet she doesn't have to worry." Lucy closed her briefcase and started to head out.

Alex followed, one more thing on her mind. "Look, about Cadmus. Now that you know who Violet is… you can understand why I need to shut them down. Fast. I know there are proper channels, but so far they've managed to stay one step ahead. We need to stop them in their tracks."

"Alex, they went rogue a long time ago, they no longer really listen to the government. There's very little I can do here…" Lucy frowned, thinking through what help she could offer.

"I know that. But they still technically have a connection to the US government. Which means that if we want to go above and beyond a judicial investigation… we need permission. We don't have true proof, nothing that will hold up in front of any public examination. The bulk of what we've come up with boils down to suspicion, circumstantial evidence, and some… 'questionably'… extracted information—"

Lucy held up her hand and stopped her right there. "Alex please don't tell me you're openly admitting to torturing civilians. To a Major in the Army."

"Of course not. I'm just trying to explain the situation. Every second we waste trying to do things the right way puts more people at risk. Including my daughter. I need to hit Cadmus hard. Where it counts. Take out the head."

"Listen, you can continue to question whoever you need to question—"

"Lucy. Lillian Luthor is… Lillian Luthor. Bringing in her minions for questioning is one thing, but let's be real, it'll get us nowhere. But if we could take _her_ down and cripple them? All at once?"

"Alex… I'm not sure what exactly you're asking me to do."

"Just tell me I can go in and get her. Give me a warrant. Something. I don't have enough to get the go ahead from anyone else."

Lucy paused to think it over. There had been a sort of unspoken understanding over the last year or so that Cadmus was a lost cause. They were a rogue organization under the direction of a private citizen with no ties to the government. But the military had labeled them a terrorist organization, which meant a lot of the federal protections afforded to private citizens didn't apply… and if the private citizen in question was Lillian Luthor? That name carried a lot of weight, both famously and infamously.

"Fine," she gave in. "I used to think that Cadmus had its place – somewhere. But obviously that ship has long since sailed. I wouldn't mind having a little chat with Lillian myself. I'll put together a directive, and confirm it with J'onn. You can bring her in. But you need to be smart. You find her alone, and you take her fast, and _then_ you worry about the rest of them. I want minimal collateral damage on this. If I'm going to stick my neck out here I want assurances that you will make sure it doesn't get messy. Take out the head and pick up the pieces afterward."

"Understood." Alex agreed, relieved that they would be able to go after Cadmus with full force. If this was the direction their investigation went – looking for Lillian, getting her alone, and bringing her in? Permanently? They might be able to dismantle the whole thing from the top and shut it down before Lillian had the chance to make anything worse.

* * *

Back in the conference room, Maggie nudged Violet with her shoulder. "How does it feel not to have the weight of the world on your shoulders?" Violet looked at her, knowing she was referring to the Dominators. Now that it had been 'handed off' to the military it would make sense that Violet would be able to take a step back and relax. Let someone else be responsible for the future.

If only it were that simple.


	41. Chapter 41

It didn't take long for Violet to try and throw herself into the Cadmus investigation. Alex had been hoping that Violet would start slow, maybe take a day or two before following through on her request to "officially" join the team as they put together a plan to find Lillian and bring her in. But when she woke up the next morning and tried to slip out without disturbing anyone, she found Violet dressed and waiting for her in the kitchen.

On the drive in, Alex did her best to get Violet up to speed on what exactly Cadmus was. She made sure to ease her into the history of Cadmus and hopefully prevent her from having another breakdown. She and Maggie were still a little unsure exactly what had triggered Violet that night, all they knew for certain was that it had followed her overhearing them discuss Cadmus.

"Right now Cadmus is being run by someone who wants to rid the earth of alien life. All alien life." Alex started. "Major Lane gave us the ok to go right to the top and bring her in. She and J'onn discussed it last night, so the investigation is going in a slightly different direction."

"Wait, so that means we're not looking for Cadmus? We're just looking for one person?" Violet questioned. _Seems easy enough,_ she thought, _but_ , "do you really think taking down a single person will shut them down?"

"It's the most important first step," Alex nodded. _And now for the history lesson_. "Cadmus used to be a part of the US government. They were established as an underground, black site, research lab to investigate alien lifeforms. Their methods were controversial—"

"Torture?"

"Experimentation. Most of it bordered on torture I'm sure," Alex didn't love getting into detail here, this was not a D.E.O. connection that she was particularly proud of. "The mentality of the project was that aliens were sub-human, and that anything unknown was to be feared. They were given the authorization and the resources to do whatever was necessary to understand. Dissection to inhumane experimentation to murder and necropsy. They did it all. And didn't think twice."

Violet felt her stomach flip. She could understand hatred towards the Dominators, towards aliens that were truly evil and posed a real threat. But to think that way about all aliens? Her mind immediately went to her aunt, to J'onn. Imagining what a place like that would have done to them. What Alex was describing was vastly different from the Cadmus that she knew from her own time. Her mom had never allowed her into the inner workings of her own investigation, so Violet knew very little of Cadmus's history. Just what they'd become. And what they'd done.

Alex watched as disgust appeared on Violet's face and paused. She couldn't blame her. She felt the same way. And she hadn't even told Violet about her own familial connection to Cadmus yet.

"I assume you know that the president signed an Amnesty act last year?"

Violet nodded. That was a bit of history that she knew very well. Even twenty years from now that piece of legislation would be controversial and heavily debated. While many hailed it as a progressive symbol of peace and hope, there was no shortage of people who saw it as a definitive marker of the beginning of the end.

"When she signed it, Cadmus cut all ties with the government. They went rogue. They still consider aliens a threat, across the board. They've come after us, they've gone after Kara, they tried to capture and collect aliens and literally launch them off the planet."

"Ok, so far none of what you're saying has me convinced that taking out one person will be enough to stop them." Violet furrowed her brow.

In her time Cadmus was massive. They were a brand; private military, on loan across the world in the war against the Dominators. She knew they were harsh and violent, and at times bordering on war criminals, but they acted as a police force. A corrupt one, but still a police force. She didn't remember hearing anything about experiments or abductions or extermination plots.

"When they went rogue someone stepped up. Someone who agreed with the chief directive of Project Cadmus. That all aliens are bad and should be eliminated. Lillian Luthor."

"Luthor—"

"Yeah. Her son is Lex Luthor." Violet's eyes went wide, things were starting to make sense. "Lillian has taken the work Lex was doing and brought it to Cadmus. They're not a large organization, but she's pushed them to be able to do things that I doubt they would have had the 'vision' to do beforehand. She took them from the shadows and turned them into 'activists'. If we can stop her, we may be able to cripple the whole thing long enough to scoop up the rest of them."

Violet was quiet. The knowledge she had of Cadmus from her own time, coupled with what she was learning now, made her realize just how dangerous they were. They had clearly cashed in on the fear that the Dominators had instilled, worming their way into the mainstream and becoming the new normal. Making people rely on them as they continued to do whatever they wanted to whomever they wanted, with the blessing of the entire world. The enemy of my enemy…

But in 2017, Cadmus came down to one person; one single person at the helm of a morally repulsive organization that looked to her for leadership.

"There's one other thing." Violet sensed the change in Alex's voice and looked over. "I don't know how much of this you already know, but my father… they've got him. He's been with them for years. They've done things to him. Tried to turn him. He's pushed back, tried to resist, tried to influence them, to soften them… some of the things he's been a part of are horrible, but the last time I saw him he claimed it was the lesser of two evils. That the things he'd done, they were to protect his family."

That's when it clicked for Violet. Why they had already been so focused on Cadmus. It hadn't started with her, and it was all too personal to "just" be because of their intolerance.

Cadmus had been at war with her family for years.

"Before. When you were talking about stopping her… taking her out… do you mean killing her?" Violet clarified. If the answer was yes, if all that needed to happen for Cadmus to disappear was for Lillian Luthor to simply cease to exist… that was something Violet could help with. Really truly help with.

Alex shook her head. "No. That could actually be the worst thing we could do. It would give them something to blame us for, give someone a platform to take over. 'The aliens killed our leader we were right about them the whole time'? We can't give them the chance to use that line. We need to do this part right."

 _Crap._ Violet deflated into her seat. _So close._

For someone who considered herself expendable, the task of taking out a single person wasn't daunting at all. It was simple actually. Easy.

Blaze of glory type thing.

If all she had to do was find a way to kill Lillian Luthor to ensure Maggie would live? To bring her grandfather back, give her family a chance to be whole again? She would have done it in a heartbeat.

* * *

Unfortunately, aside from getting Violet up to speed on the mountain of background information, the investigation itself took a little while to get off the ground; now that they had shifted focus from building evidence against Cadmus as a whole, and were now specifically looking into Lillian's whereabouts, things were somehow more unclear.

For starters, it had been months since anyone had actually _seen_ Lillian Luthor, so the first thing they needed to do was find her. After getting his new assignment from J'onn, Winn had spent the night compiling a massive list of possible locations; either that held some significance to Cadmus or to Lillian. Or to Lex. Or, despite plenty of protest from Kara, to Lena.

Every time they hit a dead end he expanded their search;

Locations with a known Cadmus affiliation.

City wide facial recognition.

Luthor family real estate holdings.

Old LexCorp corporate ties.

 _"Secret"_ Luthor family real estate holdings.

Shell corporations on top of shell corporations that eventually led back to Cadmus.

Or LexCorp.

Or L-Corp.

Nation wide facial recognition.

But so far nothing. At least when they were looking at all of Cadmus there was a larger pool to sift through.

Winn didn't start getting frustrated until almost a week in. Alex had been feeling frustrated long before that, though she didn't let it show. She had expected that once Lucy gave them the go-ahead to bypass some of the more tedious aspects of the investigation it would be simpler. But somehow Lillian Luthor and Cyborg Superman had both vanished, seemingly without a trace. The silver lining to the stalled investigation was that maybe Violet would get bored with it. One could hope.

If only Alex knew just how invested Violet truly was.

Because Violet wasn't bored. And she wasn't frustrated. She was focused.

Alex and Maggie had let her know right away that Major Lane had offered up their science division to help get her home. Which was supposed to make her feel better. But all it really did was make her feel like she was racing against the clock; Violet knew when Maggie was going to die. She knew the date. It was ingrained in her mind. And she also knew that if the military scientists were any help at all, then she likely wouldn't still be around that far into the future. At some point, possibly a lot sooner than she had thought, she would be pulled out of 2017. And whatever she had done to try and save Maggie?

That would be it.

No more chances, no more tries.

Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it as soon as humanly possible. So far all she could come up with was to help make sure Cadmus wasn't around when they were supposed to be responsible for Maggie's death.

If she could help take them down, dismantle them years beforehand, she'd be a lot more comfortable with the idea of leaving 2017 behind.


	42. Chapter 42

Alex tapped her foot as she stared out the window, coffee getting cold in her hands. She couldn't sleep last night, a million thoughts turning over and over in her mind.

They were going on weeks of looking for Lillian. They had ventured out on useless missions, each time thinking they had her. Each time nothing. And each time Alex grew more frustrated. To be able to see a light at the end of the Cadmus tunnel only to have it snuffed out was infuriating. After the most recent unsuccessful mission Alex had maybe possibly broken a chair while 'expressing her displeasure', which prompted J'onn to send her home for a couple days to clear her head.

But her head was anything but clear, even at home. Maggie was in the middle of a case, and had been working nearly nonstop the last few days. And, at least right now, Violet was asleep. Alex basically had the apartment to herself. Which was probably supposed to be peaceful, but for some reason it just made her more anxious. Like sitting still was taking her away from something productive.

Alex felt her phone go off, and snatched it up. Maybe it was Maggie, or Kara, or anything that would give her something to do today.

 _Location on Lillian Luthor. Verified visual confirmation myself._ Alex felt her pulse quicken as she reread J'onn's text again and again.

This was it.

She was up in a second; boots on and gearing up to go in.

 _This time_ , Alex thought to herself as she got ready, _I'm bringing the damn gun_.

She unlocked the safe she kept her alien gun in and holstered it automatically. Winn had been borrowing it when she was off duty, trying to tinker with it so they could replicate its capabilities. Unfortunately, the last time she could have really used it she technically _was_ off duty. If she'd only had it with her that day at the warehouse… that had been one of the many 'what if' scenarios she had gone over while she sat by Violet's side waiting for her to wake up. She played it over and over in her head; taking Henshaw out in a single shot before Violet even showed up.

But everyone knows the old adage, 'Hindsight is 20/20', and obviously there was nothing Alex could do to change what happened that day. But what she could do was prepare herself going forward. So Alex changed the protocol; on duty or off, the alien gun came with her.

If Winn needed to mess with it, he did so with Alex standing next to him. Or in a secured meeting on the premises. Sure, she was probably being paranoid, but the last time she had been relaxed with it, had left it behind, Violet had almost died. And Alex was pretty sure that gun could have prevented the bulk of the destruction that day.

She paused and debated for a brief moment before grabbing a pen to leave Violet a note letting her know that she'd been called into the field. No reason to wake her up only to hear her ask to come with. She'd caught Violet looking into some Cadmus files on her own, which was exactly what rule #3 told her not to do. The last thing she wanted was for Violet to decide that rule #1 didn't apply either. She shuddered at the idea of Violet in the field, willing to sacrifice herself to keep others safe.

Alex looked back into the quiet apartment and stepped out into the hallway, locked the door behind her, and pulled out her phone to call Maggie with news.

* * *

By the time Alex arrived at the D.E.O. Kara was already there, suit and game face both on. She and J'onn, and the handful of other agents that were worthy of being included in the planning of this takedown, had their heads together around a set of monitors on the wall. Holographic blueprints, satellite imagery, and countless other sets of analytical data were up throughout the room. Winn appeared to be controlling the whole thing from his tablet.

"Agent Danvers," J'onn stopped as he noticed Alex enter.

"Tell me what you've got," Alex and Kara nodded to each other as she made her way to the center of the activity, fully understanding the gravity of what they were about to do. Take down Lillian. Cripple Cadmus.

J'onn stood up straight and began to walk her through what they had, starting with a surveillance image of Lillian Luthor, not nearly grainy enough to be considered questionable. "We've been watching numerous suspicious locations over the last few weeks. Late last week one of them suddenly began showing signs of activity. No one coming or going, but power and lights and a public record of utilities. All under the name of a third cousin of Lionel Luthor."

"Lex's father." Alex stated. She watched satellite footage of the building J'onn was briefing her on, noting how benign it looked. No trucks, no fences, no guards. Nothing that indicated someone would be using their vast resources to reinforce and hole up in it.

J'onn nodded. "This morning we were able to identify Lillian Luthor entering the facility. Alone."

Alex narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. They were so close she could taste it. "Any activity since?"

"Nothing," Winn interjected. "And we've been able to fly a drone past to scan more thoroughly." He came up behind them and instantly transferred the images on his tablet up onto the monitors.

Alex glanced across them. "What am I looking at here."

"That," Winn pointed, "is a single heat signature. The building is heavily fortified, but not at its perimeter. More the structure itself. The walls, the windows."

Alex didn't care. This was their opportunity. Whatever it took to get inside, to get her, this was their chance. None of the guesswork that had come with their other missions; the confirmation was there. "Kara and I will go in, we'll grab her, and we'll come back."

"Not so easy," Winn shuffled through his tablet and pulled up another filtered image. "That, the glow through the entire building, is kryptonite. Kara – Supergirl – isn't going anywhere near it."

"I'm not letting Alex go in there alone," Kara instantly became defensive. "This could be a setup, Lillian could be in there waiting, knowing that I can't get too close." She turned to Alex, "What if it's another attempt to target you. Like the warehouse."

"Kara, he's right. You need to be extremely cautious here." J'onn wasn't about to let her put herself in a vulnerable position like that, exposing herself to the one thing that would take her invincibility from her. Especially not on a mission that had the potential to get so volatile. "Winn, how much kryptonite are we looking at."

"Not enough to kill her, if that's what you're asking. But prolonged exposure, especially in a building that would literally be surrounding her with it… it wouldn't take long for her to start to feel the effects."

J'onn furrowed his brow and nodded, analyzing the best way to ensure both success and safety of his agents. "Alex, you take in three teams, spread out search the building." Kara opened her mouth to argue, but J'onn was faster, "Supergirl, you stay outside. I want you to be her eyes and ears, report to Agent Danvers with direction and surveillance updates throughout the mission. Not close enough to be seen or heard," _or effected_ , "but there as support and intel."

Kara glanced at Alex, who gave her the briefest hint of a nod, and agreed.

* * *

Kara circled, watching from a distance as Alex lead seven other agents into the compound. Winn had been giving them real time updates until Kara was onsite, analyzing the building schematics over the coms as he went. The moment they stepped inside, armed and on high alert, Alex had called for modified radio silence to ensure everyone was as focused and silent as possible.

Kara hated being on the outside looking in. Literally. She just wanted to get in there and take care of this quickly and without risk to anyone else. Instead she was sidelined, watching with x-ray vision as Alex and another agent split off from the group while the other six started up.

" _Danvers and_ _Roper; ground floor clear._ " Kara heard Alex whisper. Kara scanned the building, certain she could make out Lillian Luthor pacing a few floors up. She alerted Alex and guided her up as the rest of the agents continued to secure the building.

" _Second floor clear_ ," Alex whispered. " _All teams check in_."

" _Hartmann and Davies._ _Third floor clear_ ," Agent Hartmann called in, quiet but clear. Kara waited for the rest, but heard nothing. Which was odd…

" _All teams_." Alex reiterated.

Nothing.

" _Hartmann_." Alex waited. Something was off. Two teams were unaccounted for, and the one that had actually responded when requested was suddenly MIA. " _Supergirl, something isn't right here. I'm not getting any response on the coms. Do you see anything?_ "

Kara stopped midflight, and took a moment to look through the building. "Alex I'm counting agents, they're all there. It looks like they're holding positions on the first few floors."

" _Holding? They're supposed to be working their way up, completing the sweep… Kara, I don't like this…_ " Kara heard Alex whisper before there was a pop in her ear and her sister's voice disappeared.

"Alex!" She called out, desperately trying to use her x-ray vision and super hearing to isolate her location.

" _Supergirl! Report!_ " Kara disregarded J'onn's voice in her ear while she focused all her energy on trying to track down Alex. After a second failed attempt to get through to her sister, Kara didn't waste any time. _Screw the kryptonite_ , she thought as she took off towards the building, ignoring J'onn as he called her back. She landed near the entrance the D.E.O. had used and rushed in.

She scanned quickly for bodies, settling on a pair of agents two floors up. She quietly made her way upstairs to confront them; find out what the hell they were doing holding positions so far back. When she reached them, it was immediately obvious why they had stopped. Kara slowed as she noted the vacant looks on their faces, and the slightest sway in their stance. She waved a hand in front of their eyes, and took a step back when she got no response.

"J'onn," she quietly called into her coms, "I found Hartmann and Davies. It's like they're… frozen. Paralyzed or something."

" _Supergirl, I need you to clear that building and get me a headcount as soon as you can so I can send in a retrieval team. Use extreme caution, we have no idea what we're dealing with_."

Kara, now completely freaked out and starting to feel the effects of the kryptonite, pushed herself to get to the last spot she remembered being able to hear Alex's heartbeat. A dark corridor, with minimal lighting throughout.

No Alex.

The kryptonite was making it a harder for Kara to rely on her powers; they were weak and hard to control, but Kara could still see in the dark. See through walls.

She could still clearly make out the fact that there was nothing here.

No one.

She crouched down when she saw something on the ground. With her breath caught in her throat she picked it up and stood, fingers fumbling across it. She raised a finger to her ear and switched to a private channel on her coms.

"J'onn?" she whispered, doing her best to steady her own voice, "I found Alex's gun."


	43. Chapter 43

Kara paced back and forth across the floor of the D.E.O. command center, fuming and afraid. Somehow her sister was just… gone. It was clear now that the entire mission had been a trap, and she was furious at herself for not being able to prevent what had happened.

J'onn had allowed her time to search before insisting she return. He had reached out to Maggie, who barely let him get through his first sentence before informing him that she was on her way and hanging up. Lucy was on her way in with a team as well; apparently this was not what she meant when she had requested 'minimal collateral damage' and 'assurances that it wouldn't get messy', so she insisted on taking a more active role in the Cadmus situation from here on out – starting with tracking down Alex.

"People don't just disappear." Kara was out of ideas and down to simply thinking out loud. "We must have missed something. Cadmus operatives. A transport device. Anything." When she and Alex realized that they were down D.E.O. agents, Kara had counted individual heartbeats. They were all there. But by the time she got inside, the two most important ones were gone. She knew they hadn't killed Alex, not on site anyway. That she would have heard. Known. She held onto that knowledge for dear life; clearly they wanted her alive. At least that meant they had time to find her.

"Supergirl, you searched that compound for an hour. If she was there – if anything was there – you would have found it." J'onn had watched her pace and listened to her spitball ideas since she returned, none of which were helpful at the moment. Unfortunately, her mind was simply too clouded right now, no doubt split between what was happening now and how things had almost gone the last time someone had dared take her sister.

"I don't understand how I didn't know. I was on alert, I was watching and listening to everything that was going on in that compound. How could that many agents go dark without me hearing anything? I should have been able to get inside faster, been able to stop her from being taken—"

"Medical is piecing it together," J'onn attempted to placate her. "They all have the same drug in their system. There must have been a silent and instantaneous delivery system. Whatever Cadmus put together… it was clearly designed to avoid being detected; more specifically… from being detected by you."

As J'onn finished, they both heard a commotion outside and turned to look just as Maggie marched in, slamming the door shut behind her. "What happened," she demanded the instant she was certain that they were alone.

"Early this morning we were notified of Lillian Luthor's location." J'onn started to explain. There would be no stalling, no sugar coating; Maggie deserved the facts, straight forward and direct. "We had visual confirmation that she was there, and scans confirmed that she was alone, all we had to do was go in and get her. Which obviously did not go as planned."

Fury lined Maggie's face, and Kara stepped in. "There was kryptonite, but I was watching everything from outside, we were in constant contact. At some point the agents that went in with her, they all stopped responding. They stopped checking in. By the time we realized that something was off and I got in there to figure out what was going on… Alex had disappeared. I searched the whole building myself, but they took her and disappeared."

"How Kara." Maggie raised her voice. "You were _there._ You're Supergirl, how could she just disappear? How could you let someone take her?" Kara met her gaze with pained eyes but didn't respond, silently accepting the blame that Maggie was placing on her. After all, she _was_ Supergirl. How the hell could she let someone take her sister?

"Detective." J'onn warned.

Maggie glanced at J'onn, caught herself and took a breath. "Kara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, you have to know I didn't mean that. I just… I can't go through this again, the last time Alex was taken…"

"I know."

"Sir?" Agent Vasquez popped her head in. "Major Lane is here. She's on her way to the conference room upstairs, insisted on setting up a command center for the search herself." J'onn nodded and started towards the door, holding eye contact with Maggie as he did.

Maggie closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair, breathing slowly to center herself. Suddenly her eyes popped open, "I have to call Violet."

Kara was a little wary, she knew what had happened the last time Violet felt Alex was in trouble. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I can't just keep this from her Kara," Maggie responded as she nodded with certainty and pulled out her phone. She dialed and held it to her ear, waiting as it rang. And frowning as it went to voicemail.

She tried again, holding her breath as it rang.

And again; voicemail.

"Come on Violet," she whispered to herself, "pick up."

"Where is she? I'll just go get her."

"She's at home, but Kara—"

"Maggie, you know the second you tell her something's going on she'll insist on coming in. You focus on helping find Alex, I'll be back with Violet in ten."

* * *

Kara arrived at Alex and Maggie's apartment and, as usual, came in through the door to the balcony. "Vi?" she called out. "Hey, it's me. I need to talk to you, it's important."

Nothing.

Kara looked around for a second, noting Violet's phone on the table.

"Hey, Maggie?" she spoke into her coms, knowing Maggie would undoubtedly be on the other end. "I'm here… and Violet isn't."

" _What do you mean she isn't?_ "

"I mean her phone is here, but she's not. And I don't hear her."

" _Kara, she can't not be there_ ," Maggie was starting to panic. " _Is the door locked?_ "

"Is the—"

" _Is the door locked. Dead bolted. Could someone have gotten in?"_

Kara immediately caught on and looked up towards the door. "It's locked but no deadbolt. And the spare key that hangs by the door is gone."

" _Ok. Ok that's good, she could have gone out for a second, maybe to check the mail or something._ " Maggie focused on that, talking herself down as she tried to fall back on her detective skills. " _She could have taken the key, locked the door behind her._ "

"I'm checking the building now. But Maggie I still don't hear her."

" _Please Kara, just check_." Maggie begged. " _Mail is on the ground floor, trash is one down in the garage_."

Kara worked as quickly as she could. "Lobby is clear, no one here but the doorman."

Maggie closed her eyes and waited.

And waited.

For what felt like a damn lifetime.

Then Kara's voice came through. "The garage is empty. There's a bag of trash tossed over near the elevator door, nothing else."

" _That's it, I'm getting Winn_." Maggie tried to think. " _When we moved in we made sure there was 24-hour video surveillance. He can get the footage._ "

"Ok, I'm coming back. Maggie, we'll find her."

* * *

By the time Kara got back to the D.E.O. there was video up; Winn's fingers were flying over a keyboard and Maggie was pacing the length of the room. Kara glanced at Maggie as she crossed her arms and took her place next to Winn as he did his best to scan through footage as quickly as possible.

"Got her!" he announced, Maggie over his shoulder in an instant.

They all watched as surveillance video of the hallway on their floor showed Violet and a trash bag stepping into the elevator. Winn switched over to the elevator feed and hit fast forward. Two seconds into the sped-up footage, they saw Violet fall.

"Winn go back!" Maggie stopped him, "slow it down."

Winn did as he was told, and no one said a word as they all stared at the screen; about thirty seconds into the elevator feed Violet went from seemingly fine to a little unsteady, looking around and clearly confused about something. She started to cough… put a hand out to steady herself… dropped the bag she was holding.

And slid to the floor.

" _No."_ Maggie whispered. Kara reached out and grabbed her arm as the video continued.

After what seemed like hours of just watching Violet motionless on the ground, the elevator opened and some guy in a ski mask pulled her out and kicked the trash bag out the door.

Without a word, Winn pulled up a different shot of that exact moment. The same guy tossed Violet into the back of a van and peeled out. "No plates," he offered up hesitantly, not looking forward to delivering the bad news.

"Go back." Maggie whispered, frozen in place. "Pull it apart; find me something. Anything."

Winn went to work. Suddenly there were different frames up all over the room and programs running and Winn switching between screens and traffic cams and building feeds.

Kara however, was still very much focused on the initial elevator clip, which was playing on a loop on the largest monitor, right smack in the middle. She frowned and pointed, "what is that?"

"What's what." Maggie murmured, head spinning. She had no idea what Kara was talking about. She was too focused on the looped video clip of Violet falling to the ground.

"That haze. In the corner of the frame, what is that?"

Winn pulled his attention back to Kara and started typing, cycling through different filters as the video played through yet again. "Whatever it is, it's not the video feed. The feed is clear."

"Go back to the video of her being taken." Maggie instructed, a sinking feeling coming over her.

Winn swapped out the elevator feed for the video that was shot from the garage. Kara clenched her fists and her knuckles turned white as she watched Violet crumple into the van before the masked man slammed the sliding door shut and made his way to the passenger side door and got in.

"That mask he's got on," Maggie pointed at his face, only partially obstructed from view from this angle. "There's something under it. It's too bulky to just be a ski mask." Winn flew through every image he had of the abductors masked face, pulling them all up side by side. "Son of a bitch, he's wearing a gas mask." Maggie growled. "They gassed her down. Kara, go get J'onn."

"Maggie he's with Lucy, they're working on finding Alex—"

"Kara, Alex and Violet were grabbed within hours of each other. There's no way they're not connected. If Cadmus took Alex?" Maggie turned back to the stalled image of the kidnapper getting into the van.

Kara closed her eyes. "Then they have Violet too."

* * *

 **O.O**

 **Ok, no but for real. I actually stressed _myself_ out writing this part. Which hopefully means it's exactly as intense and suspenseful as I was going for. Seeing the way Kara and Maggie teamed up last season kinda made me want to try my hand at their 'sort-of-combative-under-pressure/sort-of-not-on-the-same-page-in-a-crisis/but-definitely-on-the-ball-when-it-comes-down-to-it' relationship. **

**Questions/Comments/Concerns:**

\- **Throwback39: I loved Lucy sooo much, she's one of the things I miss the most about the first season. And when someone suggested a Lucy/Violet 'faux pas' I just had to do it. So, thanks Orionslave, I never would have come up with that and I had a ton of fun with it.**

\- **I'm trying to balance the emotion and the action and the fluff and the angst, some chapters are a little heavier in some aspects (mostly the angst let's be real here) but hopefully it's not overkill.**

\- **I'm so glad people have been enjoying the relationships between Alex and Violet and Maggie. I want that to be the heart of the story (with plenty of Kara of course!), and somehow it's what trips me up the most.**

 **Please keep reading and responding, I love seeing what people think about all this craziness** J


	44. Chapter 44

Violet stirred.

Her head felt fuzzy, her eyelids heavy and uncooperative. She wasn't sure why she was sleeping… She fought herself to think; she remembered waking up, seeing Alex's note, being annoyed about Alex's note… showering… making breakfast… taking out the trash…

A wave of adrenaline hit and her eyes snapped open. She remembered feeling woozy. Falling. And now suddenly she was here. Where the hell was here? Violet attempted to pick up her head and look around, a wave of nausea rolling over her as she did. She had spent enough time sedated recently to know when she'd been drugged. And based on how fast the room was spinning and how slow her body was to respond to instructions from her brain, like 'open your eyes dammit' and 'lift your fucking head', she had definitely been drugged. She forced her head up and tried to focus her eyes on her surroundings, but didn't make it very far before a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Good of you to join us. The haze will pass. I hear you have a lot of information that we may find quite beneficial."

Violet stared groggily up at Lillian Luthor's face hovering above her, still fighting to hang on to consciousness and lucidity. She'd only ever seen pictures until now. This was the woman who would set into motion one of the most influential moments of her life. And her mother's.

"Well. Why don't we start with the basics," Lillian leered. "You, my dear, are not from here. Which I would normally take serious issue with. But in your case, that seems to mean something a little… different."

Violet did her best to give off the most threatening glare she could manage, even though her whole body swayed with each breath. She wasn't nearly awake enough to do any talking. But even if she was? She had no intention of giving this woman anything.

"It's my understanding that you have firsthand knowledge of what's coming. What's in store for us. And you're going to enlighten me, or this will get very ugly for you very quickly." Lillian crouched down in front of her with a look that made it clear that this wasn't a suggestion.

Violet glared back at her, matching the intensity on her face. She couldn't shake her head, couldn't get a sound out, but she was able to effectively get her response across without either.

Lillian stood, nostrils flared in amusement. "I can't say I'm surprised by your… 'reluctance' to be helpful. Perhaps this will help you make up your mind." With that, Lillian turned to open the door that Violet had only just now noticed behind her. She kept her eyes fixed on Lillian, who stepped back from the door, eagerly anticipating whatever was about to happen.

Violet heard a noise and felt her head spin as she turned to see Hank Henshaw drag Alex into the room. The stoic and defiant look on her face faltered the moment she saw Violet. She dropped out of 'D.E.O. agent mode' for the briefest second before catching herself and forcing a return to stone-faced opposition.

Violet watched the change in Alex's face and realized that she was a surprise, that Alex hadn't known she was there until this very moment. They kept eyes on each other, both trying to figure out how the other had gotten there. Alex quickly scanned over Violet's face and body, desperately praying she hadn't been hurt. Violet's glassy eyes stared numbly back at her, and her silence and sluggishness had her concerned.

"Oh don't worry about her Agent Danvers. She's just waking up from a nap. We couldn't simply lure her into a transport field the way we did with you, so her… 'acquisition'… was a little messier."

Alex turned to Lillian, eyes blazing, and attempted to pull herself free from Henshaw. She was rewarded with a strong punch to the gut as he tightened his grip. Alex doubled over and gasped, fighting to catch her breath.

Violet registered Alex's painful cry and started to panic, though thanks to whatever drugs were in her system she had no immediate outward response. By the time her face caught up with her mind she'd had time to mask her fear and quash the instinctual reaction that Lillian seemed to be looking for.

Lillian turned to Violet who stared back at her silently. "Oh, come on Violet," she taunted. "Are we really going to pretend you're ok with that? If nothing else, you've been staying with her for months. You can't expect me to believe that you have no regard for her. Don't think we didn't see what happened when Cyborg Superman went after _you_ …"

Alex looked up, huffing and puffing but furious. She could kill her, right here right now. Just for taking credit for that attack. Lillian saw the anger on her face and chuckled.

"Hit a nerve, have we? Talking about that? We didn't exactly get what we needed that day. It did get me thinking though… so we decided it was time that we do a little research on the D.E.O.'s newest protégé. Thanks to your father and a lovely little backdoor program he left behind we've been able to go through some of the D.E.O.'s digital data quite efficiently. And do you know what we found?"

Lillian paused and Alex held her breath. " _Nothing_. No personnel file. No training records. No field tests." As much as Alex wanted to feel relieved by that, she was all too aware of the smug look on Lillian's face as she paced across the floor in between them. It was clear she was ramping up to something, and Alex didn't like where this was going. "Which seemed odd to me. But, maybe she wasn't an agent. Maybe she was another one of your pet aliens. And no doubt an important one to get the second in command at the D.E.O. as her handler." Alex focused on her daughter, careful not to give Lillian anything and silently willing Violet not to either.

Lillian looked between then, smiled, and continued. "So, we went the more personal route; hands on detective work. Yes, Agent Danvers," she interrupted herself when Alex glanced away from Violet to look over to her, "we have people inside the D.E.O., people who know what to look for." Alex turned back to Violet indignantly as Lillian resumed her speech. "And what we found was a redacted report and an energy spike. Which we assumed, as any logical human being in this line of work would, was connected to a transmatter portal to another planet; it would certainly explain the sudden arrival of Violet here." Alex glowered at her. How dare she say her name.

"But," Lillian sighed, "our scientists couldn't match a portal signature. Which lead to some more digging. And we discovered that all of a sudden there was a lot of research into time manipulation on the D.E.O. servers… specifically reversing time travel."

Alex could hear her heart pounding in her ears, suddenly acutely aware of where they were headed. She kept her gaze trained on Violet, whose dazed look and general listlessness seemed to be dissipating. Instead, Violet was somehow cool, calm, and steady; almost scarily so. Even in the face of whatever was coming. Which appeared to be getting worse by the minute.

"From there it was quite simple really. Figuring out why you would have such a primal protective instinct for a girl that we now knew was from the future." Alex could barely contain her rage, futilely attempting to shake herself free from Henshaw's grip once again.

"You see?" Lillian grinned as she stepped over to Alex, cupping her chin in her hand. "Look at that face. It reminds me of me. And how I felt when Superman," Lillian dropped her cheery facade and slipped into a snarl, "betrayed my son. The same face we saw from you in that warehouse. So, tell me Agent Danvers. What went through your mind as you watched your daughter nearly bleed to death in front of you?"

That was enough.

"I will kill you." Alex swore in a whispered growl, eyes burning as Lillian stepped back and headed over to her daughter.

"Oh, Agent Danvers, I'm sure you think you will. But that won't be necessary. You see all we need from your daughter this time around is information. And who better to convince her to talk to us than dear old mommy."

Violet, much more in control of herself by now, couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Why does any of this matter," she spat. "I came back to change things, which means the future that I'm from is never going to happen. At this point I probably know about as much about what's coming as you do." _Half bluff, half wishful thinking_.

"Nice try Miss Danvers," Lillian turned to her, clearly unamused. "Lucky for you we have options. You see, with _both_ of you here, we can find out exactly what type of… motivation… is stronger. We can find out if you're a bleeding heart, like the rest of your family, and have a natural desire to protect others—"

"Listen to me," Alex called to Violet. "You don't tell them anything. No matter what they do to me. You know what's at stake." With that Lillian rolled her eyes and signaled to Henshaw, who yanked Alex down into a chair and bound and gagged her.

"—or if you're a survivalist. In it to save yourself first. I imagine that you must have lived through quite a bit in your time based on the limited reports we were able to get our hands on. Reports concerning preparation for an alien invasion unlike anything we have ever seen. Tell me Violet, was that pure luck? Or did you sacrifice others to save your own skin."

Alex watched Violet's face turn inward, no doubt remembering those who had died so she could live. Sure, she had a better understanding now, about how important those sacrifices were, not just for her life but for the fate of the world. But that didn't change what had happened, how many people she saw lose their lives for hers. How long she'd had to live with that guilt.

Alex's heart broke as she saw Violet blink back tears.

Lillian reveled in it.

"It seems we may have touched on something there, Miss Violet. So, tell me. Who would like to go first."


	45. Chapter 45

Kara and Maggie waited, less than patiently, for J'onn. The three of them, rounded out by Lucy and Winn, had one more hail Mary left before they were out of ideas. They were literally back to the same square one they had been sitting at before Lillian so graciously revealed herself. Wherever she was hiding out, wherever she'd been for the last couple months, they were no closer to finding her than before.

J'onn marched into the interrogation room with his prisoner and slammed him down into a chair. He'd been in D.E.O. custody for a while now, and was ashen and unkempt with the patchy beard of someone who hadn't seen the sun or a shower in weeks.

Brenden Webber.

The Cadmus rat that he and Alex had tracked down after Violet's attack. The one who, until now, had given them little to nothing of any use.

Today they were going to change that.

"Hello Mr. Webber." Maggie started, cold and to the point. Kara hung back, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, and J'onn stepped out to give the women some… privacy. Webber watched him leave and stared back at Maggie, unfazed. He'd been through this before, had been in custody and repeatedly questioned on and off for weeks now.

"Let me guess. You're the bad cop with a temper and now that the boss man has left… you're going to be the one to break me," he sneered.

Maggie smiled ominously. This guy had no idea what he was in for. "Why don't we have a little chat about Cadmus. I think it's about time you let us in on what they're up to."

"Yeeaaaaahhhh, I have no intention of having any more little chats. With anyone. Haven't you and your little toy soldiers learned anything yet? I'm. Not. Talking. Haven't yet, and nothing's changed."

"Oh, but something has changed. Lillian Luthor has taken an agent. And fully intend on getting her back. This isn't a game anymore."

Webber's sneer turned into a haunting grin, "Good to know she still had it in her, we were beginning to wonder if she was a little too preoccupied with that kid to get anything of substance done."

Kara stood up and Maggie's heart skipped a beat. "Tell me what they want with Violet," she demanded.

"Violet? Who the hell—"

"The kid! Our – _my_ – kid! They took Alex, and then they took Violet. You're going to tell me what they want, and where they are."

Webber sat up a little straighter, smug look on his face, nearly salivating over this new piece of information. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But when my people get me out of here—"

"Your people?" Maggie hissed. "Let's do a little exercise. Ok? I want you to think about them. Picture them in your head. The ones that left you here to rot. Because no one has come for you, no one's even tried. And now look at my face and tell me which scenario comes with a better guarantee. Counting on them to have your back? To 'get you out of here'?" Maggie got quiet, but her eyes were on fire, punctuating her threat for her. "Or counting on me to destroy you if you don't tell me how to find my family."

Kara looked between them; a flicker of consideration on Webber's face, and fury and rage on Maggie's. She'd only ever seen this side of her one other time; the last time Alex had been taken; held hostage and used as a pawn. And it had taken everything Kara had to talk her back down. But this time? This time she had no plans to step in.

Webber faltered and spoke. "Look, I don't know anything about the kid. Before you all threw me in here Luthor wanted intel. On her, on the D.E.O., on the alien registry, on whatever the hell you all started working on that was suddenly more important than Cadmus. She wanted Danvers. Always has. But other than that?" he crossed his arms and settled back into the cold metal chair that he'd been dumped in at the beginning of this… 'conversation'. "She went dark, started digging into something. Hadn't made contact in weeks, even before you hunted me down and tossed me in here. Whatever she's up to, it's clearly progressed since I was involved. Even if I wanted to talk," Webber shrugged, "I would have no idea where she is. Or what she has planned for your 'family'."

That was it.

Their last hope at tracking Lillian Luthor.

Gone.

J'onn returned to pull Webber out and return him to his dim, secluded cell. Kara paced the room as Maggie slumped down into his vacated chair and dropped her head into her hands.

"What do we do now?" she whispered through silent tears.

"I think… I might have one more idea," Kara softly squeezed Maggie's arm before taking off.

* * *

Kara squared her shoulders and knocked softly on the open door to Lena's office. She'd been sent right up, but it still seemed a little presumptuous to just waltz in.

"Kara." Lena looked up and smiled softly, "it's been a while."

"I know, I'm so sorry." Kara stepped inside and headed towards Lena's desk. "I've been so busy, I think I owe you like three brunches and a dinner."

"It's not a problem, I know you've had a lot on your plate. How is your cousin's recovery coming along?"

Kara had gone with the standard story with Lena as well, and felt terribly guilty about it. As far as Lena knew, her cousin was from out of town and had been involved in a major car accident. The cover story had given her the ability to lean on her friends, justified all the care and focus on Violet, and explained the critical nature and of her injuries without divulging the classified truth behind them.

"That's actually sort of why I'm here. Lena, I need your help."

Lena frowned, immediately concerned. If Kara was worried, worried enough to come and ask her for help, then she was too. "Of course. What can I do."

"I need you to find your mother for me."

"Kara…" Lena shifted uncomfortably.

"Please Lena, it's critical." Kara begged.

"Kara, you know my mother and I aren't exactly in constant contact," Lena slowed as she watched Kara drop her eyes and lower her head. "Tell me what's going on, and I'll see what I can do."

Kara raised her eyes to Lena's, only debating for a second. She knew Alex wouldn't like what she was about to do. But they were out of options.

"What do you know about time travel."

Lena narrowed her eyes and eyed Kara suspiciously. "Why. Who have you been talking to."

"What? No one," Kara answered, confused. But she shook her head, not willing to divert any of her attention away from finding Alex and Violet. "We have a… visitor. It's kind of an unbelievable story, and it starts with… time travel."

Lena didn't skip a beat. "Go on."

Kara took a breath and prepared to jump right in. No sense in drawing it out, it wouldn't make what she was about to say seem any less outlandish. "It turns out our future involves an invasion. A massive one. Within the next twenty years, most of the earth's population will be wiped out."

"And you know this how." Lena asked, calm and poised as always. She was a scientist first, and until she had all the information there was no sense in getting worked up about it.

"Someone was sent back, she told us what's coming. It gives us a chance to fix it."

"Someone traveled back." Lena whispered. _Incredible_. She stepped back to her desk, mind racing, trying to put the pieces together.

"Not just 'someone'…" Kara went for it. "My cousin… she's not actually… she's my niece. My sister's daughter. She showed up a few months ago and Cadmus figured it out and they took her. Her and Alex both. They lured the D.E.O. to a secluded location and once they got there… Alex just… disappeared."

"Do they know who she is? Your niece?"

"We think so. Winn found a security breach, someone stole some reports that specifically discussed her arrival. They should at least have been able to figure out that she's from the future."

"So they took her for information. They want to know what's coming. And knowing my mother… they probably took Alex to get her to talk."

"The more they know, the more they can change… the more screwed up everything gets. Violet has been so careful not to divulge too much information. She's stubborn. And she's afraid of what that information could do. Lena, I don't know what they're going to do to her. Or to Alex." Kara whispered, tears stinging her eyes.

Of course she was concerned for the future of the planet, and what Cadmus could do with knowledge of that future. Even the most benign knowledge. But her primary concern was her family. Cadmus was ruthless. If Violet refused to talk, which Kara knew she would…

"I don't have a way to get in touch with her," Lena started and Kara just about lost hope. "I haven't spoken to her in months. But what you're describing, your sister simply disappearing?"

Kara swallowed her worry and nodded. "I was talking to her and she was just gone. There was no device, no portal, and nothing that pointed to a physical abduction. They sent a team to do a sweep, do scans of the entire building, and they got nothing."

"It sounds like something Lex was working on, a sort of large scale teleportation field. It required a very specific setup, but he always said it would be nearly undetectable."

"So we can't even prove that's what happened to her," Kara sighed.

"Not exactly. My mother wasn't the only person Lex ever talked to about his ideas… this one in particular I think I may have some old information on. He thought it had commercial promise, so he was going to patent it under LexCorp. Which means it's on a server somewhere. We kept everything."

"Lena," Kara exhaled, wide eyed, suddenly hopeful.

"After what happened with him… I swore I would never touch anything of his. But for you… for your family. And the future of the planet? It doesn't seem like there's time to even consider the possibility of another option. If I can find the designs, not only can I prove it, I can track it. Find an origin point."

"Thank you, Lena." Kara sniffled and immediately embraced her, eyes full of relieved tears.

"Of course."

* * *

It took some time, and some coordination with Winn, but eventually Lena was able to work out the teleportation field that Cadmus had used. With a digitally recreated model of the building and every bit of data and analysis that Winn had on it, Lex's designs and a couple of failed simulations (and some quiet from Kara, who was finding it damn near impossible to just sit still and _wait_ ), Lena eventually stopped, stood up, and turned to Kara with a smile on her face.

"Assuming my mother is still holding them in the same location, which she would have every reason to considering she thinks no one will be able to trace them… we've got them."

Kara enveloped Lena in a hug, brief but meaningful, before quickly pulling back and placing an eager phone call; "Maggie. I know where Lillian is."

" _Send me the location. I'm leaving the D.E.O. now, I'll meet you there. But you go now._ "


	46. Chapter 46

Violet huffed and puffed, trying to quickly catch her breath as she felt the beads of sweat on her forehead start to slip down her face. Tears stung her eyes, and fury burned behind them. Alex was slumped forward in front of her, head pitched forward and resting on her chest. She'd blacked out again, and Violet knew she only had moments before Henshaw forced her awake and they started up once more.

Unfortunately, Lillian had settled into a bit of a routine. It was pretty quickly evident that punishing Violet for being 'uncooperative' didn't exactly inspire her to start talking… but she had nearly lost it when Lillian took her anger out on Alex.

And vice versa.

Which meant that Lillian had her strategy. It involved a cattle prod and alternating between torturing Alex when Violet wouldn't answer a question, and turning it on Violet when Alex got in the way.

Henshaw kicked at the leg of Alex's chair and her head snapped up, awake but disoriented. Violet tried to meet her eye line, but Alex's head was unsteady as she struggled to get her bearings. Once she had her attention, she tried to silently convey how sorry she was; it was her fault Lillian continued to torture her, to push her over the edge, again and again. Alex, still panting and tense, was able to focus on Violet's face and relax a little; she would gladly take the brunt of Lillian's torment if it meant Violet didn't have to. Even though her head was pounding, Alex gave her the smallest smile and briefest nod in an attempt to reassure her that she was ok.

Sure, it wasn't true, but she could pretend.

Violet pulled her gaze from Alex's and glared at Lillian, who was waiting 'patiently' across the room. "Leave her alone," she demanded as Lillian stood up, her throat sore and hoarse from yelling and struggling.

"Now Violet, we've been over this. I would love to leave her alone, you can't possibly think I _want_ to do this. All I need is honesty. So far all you've told me is the name of the alien race that comes to destroy us. Which is hardly enough to do any actual good." Lillian sauntered closer, ominously caressing Violet's face with the end of the prod. Violet closed her eyes and tensed up, preparing herself for the shock that usually followed. "Don't you want to help save the world?" Lillian whispered. "Is that not the point of you being here?"

Alex's heart pounded seeing her that close to Violet again, but she fought against instinct, with every fiber of her being, and sat quietly, biting her tongue. She knew that the second she fought or spoke up or did anything that even remotely indicated that she was coming to her daughter's aid, Violet would be the one to suffer.

Lillian sighed and stepped back. "You know ladies, I'm starting to wonder if the stakes aren't high enough here. You're both plenty tough, you've proven that to me, to each other. So, we're going to try this one last time; same concept, grander scale."

Alex clenched her fists and pulled against their bindings. Violet just stared, suddenly far more frightened than she'd allowed herself to be up to this point. Her stone faced and stoic façade had already started to crumble, and this additional threat, whatever it was, was going to be bad.

"Violet, it's clear that you value Alex's life – your _mother's_ life – above your own. Quite commendable really. And Alex," she turned, "you want nothing more than to protect your child." Alex looked to Violet who averted her eyes, unwilling to meet hers. "One of you, and it's up to you which one, has one last opportunity to give me what I want. I expect both of you have enough useful information to ensure that I, and Cadmus, are more than prepared to warn the world about what's coming, so I really don't care which one of you takes this deal."

Violet watched Lillian and kept quiet, but heard Alex speak up beside her. "No one is taking any deal. No one is telling you anything."

"Well, then you'll both die, and how unfortunate would that be. I have a feeling that once you hear the rules you'll be far more interested in participating. So here's the deal; the first one to tell me what I want to know… dies."

Lillian delighted in the flicker of confusion on both her captives' faces. "The other one of you will live. In short, the first one to talk gets to save the others life."

Alex's eyes grew wide and she whipped around to Violet. "Look at me! Violet! Look at me! _"_ she pleaded to the side of Violet's face. Violet ignored her, keeping her cool as she watched Lillian closely. Alex knew what was coming. Promise or no promise, she remembered Violet's words; _In the moment, if it's between me and you… it needs to be you_.

She knew that Violet would happily sacrifice herself to save her.

Lillian grinned, eyes wild and menacing, "I'll give you both a moment to discuss—"

"What do you want to know." Violet surrendered, somehow sounding both strong and defeated at the same time.

"No! Violet!" Alex raised her voice, "we talked about this! This isn't your job, you can't just—"

"What? Save your life?" Violet asked quietly, finally making eye contact. Her face was calm, her mind resolute and made up.

"Violet _, please_ ," Alex choked out a whisper, praying that she could get through to her.

Violet looked back at her, a small sad smile appearing on her face. "You'll see me again."

"Yes yes, I'm sure she will," Lillian made her way over to Violet and undid her restraints. "But for now, we have bigger things to worry about, don't we Violet."

"NO! You stay away from her!" Alex screamed, fighting her own restraints with everything she had left in her. "Leave her alone! I will tell you whatever you want to know, just leave her here!"

"We should have just started with this little game, would have gotten through to the both of you much quicker," Lillian sighed, feigning regret. "You're both so eager to talk now… but it's only fair to choose the one that volunteered first. I wouldn't want to come off as biased after all," Lillian grinned and looked between the panic and rage on Alex's face, and the sorrowful acceptance on Violet's. "Violet and I will go sit down with a failsafe polygraph. Since this is the last time we'll be talking, we need to make sure everything that comes of this conversation is accurate. Once I'm satisfied… Agent Danvers, you will be free to go."

Alex continued to fight her restraints as Lillian took Violet by the arm and lead her across the room. "NO! Lillian! I swear to god I will kill you! Violet!" Furious tears mixed with fearful ones as she futilely attempted to stop what was happening in front of her.

Violet allowed herself to be pulled to the door, stopping just short of it and turning to Alex, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "I love you, tell Maggie and Kara that I love them too. I'm sorry that this is happening, but I'm not sorry for getting you out of it."

"Please," Alex sobbed, "please, no. Violet!" She watched her daughter and their captor disappear through the door that slammed shut behind them.

And she started screaming.

* * *

Kara turned her head midflight as she heard something. She couldn't identify it, not yet, but it was the first sign that she might be on the right track. Lena had locked in on coordinates to an abandoned airfield, miles out of town, and Kara had immediately taken off towards it. Maggie was supposed to meet her there, Winn was gathering as much intel as possible on it, and J'onn and Lucy were coordinating a search and rescue team.

No one even dared to suggest that Kara wait for back up.

Kara landed at the mouth of an empty airplane hangar. The noise she had picked up on was louder now, but no more defined. It sounded like screaming, but it was muffled and distant. Kara scanned the area, noting that there was nothing for miles around her, which made no sense. Unless…

She directed her x-ray vision downwards.

And couldn't see through the floor of the hangar.

 _Lead_.

Kara's heartrate quickened. She couldn't see what was down there, but it was obvious that something was, in fact, down there. Something hidden from Kryptonian eyes. Exactly the kind of thing that Lillian Luthor would use to ensure that her location was as protected as possible. Kara searched the hangar for anything that looked like a weakness. A breach. Something that could get her down below. She eventually found a lead door hidden behind a false wall, and as she pried it open the screaming became clearer.

 _Alex!_

Kara forced herself to pause before going after her sister and activated the tracker in her suit so Maggie would be able to find her more easily. Kara had given her the coordinates the second that Lena had confirmed them, but considering Alex's screams were coming from _down_ , she wanted to ensure that Maggie would have as much of an advantage as possible when she arrived.

Because she sure as hell wasn't about to wait around for her.

Speaking of which. Kara stepped through the doorway, confident that she was in the right place. She owed Lena big time. At her feet was a staircase; long, steep, and darker than Kara would have liked.

Which didn't slow her down in the slightest.

The further down she got, the clearer Alex's screams were. They were still muffled, as though someone had tried to soundproof the bunker she was being held in. Something else that would make sense if you were trying to hide something from a Kryptonian. But her cries were loud enough, desperate enough, that they were able to break through and find their way to Kara's ears. Whatever was going on down there sounded like torture, and Kara followed the sound of her sister's voice and raced down the winding steps.

Once at the bottom, a series of doors lined the hallway that Kara found herself in. From there it was easy to pinpoint and follow the sound of Alex's desperation. Kara's eyes flared as she used her heat vision to break through the door holding Alex.

Once the 'soundproof' barrier between them was eliminated, Alex's screams were deafening.

Kara rushed in, expecting to find Lillian or Henshaw actively torturing her sister.

Instead she found Alex.

Alone.

Bound to a chair.

And screaming her head off.

"Alex! Alex, it's me, I've got you," Kara ran to her, "Maggie's on her way, we're going to get you home."

Once Alex opened her eyes and registered Kara's presence, the screaming subsided. "Kara!" she cried out. "Thank god! I knew you would hear me. They have Violet! Lillian took her, they're going to kill her!" Alex sobbed, panicking as Kara broke through the restraints that had kept her from going after them. She stood quickly, adrenaline keeping her from stumbling or swaying, which was its own miracle considering how light headed she was after Lillian's 'persuasive attempts' and her own continuous and breathless screaming.

"We'll get her back," Kara didn't hesitate, turning back to the door as Alex bolted after her, terrified they may be too late.


	47. Chapter 47

Kara broke down every door in the hallway until she and Alex came upon Lillian and Violet, who was heavily restrained and hooked up to god knows what, but appeared physically unharmed. Lillian whipped around to see Kara and Alex in fighting stances. Kara watched as fury spread across her face, no doubt realizing that Lena must have been behind their ability to track her down.

On the other side of the room stood Hank Henshaw, whose cybernetic eye flared red as he moved towards them and Alex and Kara both felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu and dread.

This time however, Maggie showed up. Alien gun in hand.

"Alex!" she called, getting her attention and tossing her the gun as Alex turned to the sound of Maggie's voice. Henshaw took advantage of the distraction and flew towards Maggie, slamming her into a wall while Alex grabbed her gun.

Violet watched Maggie drop and screamed, " _NOOO!"_

Alex, laser focused and undeterred, raised her gun (god was she happy to see that damn gun) and shot at Henshaw before he could move on Maggie.

He immediately went down.

Satisfied that he was incapacitated for the moment, Alex went for Maggie.

Nearby, Kara turned on Lillian, who had stepped behind Violet, pulled out a gun, and raised it to her head. Cocky as always, Lillian sneered and pushed her luck. "Surely you wouldn't risk her life just to—"

Kara's heat vision shot out at Lilian's gun, causing her to drop it, as Kara made her way to Violet's side in a flash; one solid punch to the face and Lillian went down. Kara turned and pulled Violet up, holding her close as Violet stood there, unable to move, frozen in shock as she watched Alex reach Maggie, unmoving and slumped over against the wall where she had landed. Alex put her hands on either side of her face, and Maggie's head drooped forward, forcing Alex to catch her as she slid onto the floor.

And Violet lost it.

"No no no Maggie!" she cried as Kara held her back. "This is all my fault! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Unable to catch her breath, Violet ripped herself from Kara's grip and bolted.

"Violet!" Alex screamed, hands still on Maggie's neck. She'd felt a pulse and seen Maggie take a breath, but now that Violet had taken off she had no time to feel relief. "No! Where is she going!" She looked down at Maggie, who was just starting to stir in her arms, and back towards the door that Violet had disappeared through, torn. "Kara—"

"I've got her, you stay with Maggie," Kara assured her, already on her way back towards the dim stairwell.

* * *

Kara raced up the stairs, emerged from the bunker and hurried through the empty hangar. She squinted in the harsh sunlight as she pushed her senses to locate Violet. She couldn't see her, but she followed the sound of quiet sobbing that she had been able to zero in on. As Kara rounded the side of the hangar to the back she finally spotted Violet, hugging her knees with her face buried in her arms.

"Violet—"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I tried as hard as I could," Violet repeated again and again as she choked out a whisper through her tears.

"Vi, hey, it's ok, it's going to be ok." Kara crouched down next to her and gently laid a hand on her back.

"No, it's not," Violet bawled, "Maggie's dead and it's all my fault. I couldn't stop it, I just made everything worse."

"What? Oh, no no no," she cooed and pulled Violet into a hug, "Violet, no, Maggie's ok."

Violet stopped and raised her tear stained face to Kara, heart in her throat, refusing to allow herself to believe Kara without confirmation. "She… she's not… dea—"

"No, Violet, she's not dead, she's ok. Alex is with her; Henshaw knocked her out, but she's already waking up."

Violet could barely breathe as she let the wave of relief wash over her. "She's ok. There's still time," she murmured to herself. She focused on forcing herself to breathe; inhale, exhale, pushing back the panic.

"Still have time for what? Violet, what else is going to happen?" Kara watched her fight through her anxiety, breathing fast and shallow; eyes shifting back and forth as she ran through something in her head. She reached a hand out to try and stop her from spiraling. "Violet."

"I can't tell you," Violet lowered her gaze, immediately abandoning her jumbled train of thought and forcing herself back towards caution.

"Violet. I know there's more going on here, and I know you're not supposed to share too much, but this is eating you up inside. You need to talk to someone."

"It's the thing you told me not to mess with," Violet mumbled, sniffling through the last of her tears.

"What?" Kara asked. She looked disheveled and exhausted and Kara didn't know exactly what she'd been through down there, so she wasn't entirely sure Violet knew what she was saying.

"When we were at the D.E.O., and I asked you about changing something else. Something that had nothing to do with the Dominators. You told me not to."

Kara paused. _That_ thing she'd told her not to mess with.

On the one hand, she stood by what she'd told Violet; there was no way to know if changing one thing would risk everything else, à la Flashpoint. Or if it would even have the desired effect to begin with. But on the other hand… Violet was a wreck. She needed to talk, to let this out. Whatever she was holding in.

"Tell me. I can't promise that I'll change my mind, about whether it's safe to try and change anything else, but—"

Violet scoffed. "Look at what just happened. Me just _being_ here already changed everything else. Cadmus took Alex, took me. I didn't tell them much, but they sure as hell know more than they ever did before."

Kara couldn't disagree with that. "Fair enough. Tell me what's going on, and I'll see what I can come up with. Ok?"

"It's about Maggie."

With the way Violet had reacted downstairs, Kara couldn't say she was surprised. But the confirmation still made her heart beat a little faster as she watched Violet's eyes well up again. "Violet. What happens to Maggie."

"The thing I said I wanted to change. To fix…" Violet took a deep breath. "Maggie dies when I'm 4, and somehow Cadmus is responsible. I don't know all the details, but my mom blamed them. It had nothing to do with the Dominators. So all this? Fixing the way the world ends? She's still going to die, and my mom is still going to have to live with that. I could barely remember her… but my mom? It derailed her whole life."

"So, Maggie is your other mom!" Kara couldn't help it. The grin on her face. Sure, there was terrible information coming out at the same time, but hearing Violet admit that Maggie was her mom. That Alex and Maggie stayed together. Kara couldn't help but on to that and feel absolutely elated.

Violet glanced over to her. "Duh. I kind of assumed that everyone had figured that out already."

Kara squealed. Actually literally squealed. Violet smiled to herself and shook her head. Even just sharing _that_ , the fact that Maggie was her mother, was a huge weight off her shoulders.

Kara worked to reel herself back in. Clamped her mouth shut to stop the squealing, took a breath, and held her hands out to calm herself. "Ok. Ok. So, if Alex is your mom, then Maggie is your…"

"Mama." Violet answered. "She was mama."

Nope. No reeling that in. Kara squealed again and gave Violet a hug. "Vi, do you have any idea how excited she's going to be when you tell her?"

Violet shook her head, vehemently against that. "No. Listen, you can't mess this up for them. You can't tell my mom, and you can't tell Maggie. I know they're already together, but it's early. Something can still go wrong. Like me. This. Maggie getting killed because of me."

Kara softened. "Vi, I told you, she's ok. She was just a little dazed, she'll be fine."

"Maybe for now…" Violet murmured as she glared at the ground, kicking at the dirt beneath her feet. It was hard to come back from that acute onset of grief, and Violet's heart was still heavy and racing with the image of Maggie sliding to the ground, most certainly dead.

Kara took a step back and sighed as she watched Violet struggle. She was still brimming with excitement, but was starting to come back down. And it was beginning to register how the rest of the story played out. Yes, Maggie and Alex end up together. And yes, they start to raise Violet together. But then…

"Why didn't you tell us," she asked softly. "You said your childhood was happy. That you wouldn't change it."

"I thought it was. I was happy. My mama – Maggie – died when I was little. I don't remember her much at all. And then it was just me and my mom and you, and you were both really good at making things ok for me. I was happy… but only because I didn't know any better. My mom wasn't happy. You weren't. And now that I know Maggie better… more than just from stories…"

"You want to save her," Kara finished for her.

"I _have_ to save her. If I don't, if I know what's coming and I don't fix it… I'll never be able to look my mom in the face. I'll never forgive myself. And if I get sent back too soon… I was thinking that maybe you…"

Kara was suddenly hyperaware of where Violet's stress had been coming from. Because the truth was… she didn't know what to do here. Of course, she wanted to save Maggie; for her sister, for Violet, hell even 'just' for Maggie.

But at the same time…

This was exactly the kind of thing they had all already agreed not to touch; altering the future for the sake of anything other than righting a wrong that was already in play.

"I know what you're thinking." Violet watched as Kara hesitated, obviously stuck on something very complicated. "I've been trying to figure out the same thing since I met her."

"I don't know how to change something without risking everything else," Kara looked at her sadly, deeply regretting that she couldn't just come right out and say 'of course I'll save her give me a date and a time and a place and she's as good as saved'.

Violet carefully laid out the logical conclusion that she had come to, hoping it would convince Kara too. "There's no more preserving a timeline. Not after what just happened. Either Cadmus is done for, which never happened in my time, or they'll be back with the knowledge that something is coming and use that to their advantage. Either way, everything surrounding them has changed. This can too."

Kara maintained her silence as she thought it over. She had a point.

"Give me a date and a time and a place." A grin erupted on Violet's face, but Kara held up a hand. "This is not a promise. Not yet. But whatever happens with you, whenever we can get you back, I'll know what's coming. And if for some reason Cadmus is still around, if they're still a threat, then I will figure it out. But whatever might happen, it'll be on me. Not you."


	48. Chapter 48

Once Kara left them behind to go after Violet, Alex had pulled Maggie into the hallway, leaving a very unconscious Lillian Luthor and (a hopefully dead) Hank Henshaw locked in the room behind them. She then shot out the lock, intending to keep them secured there until the D.E.O. could collect them.

A few minutes later, Maggie started blinking slowly, searching for something to pull her out of the smothering confusion. Everything looked, and felt, fuzzy and unclear. Maggie felt out around her, hands registering dirt and grime. And the warmth of someone holding her.

It took a moment, but once she found Alex's blurry face she immediately pulled her down into a kiss. "Are you ok? I was so worried about you," she whispered. She felt Alex nod behind her lips. Maggie opened her tearful eyes once again and looked around, finally able to make out more than just shadowy shapes. It clicked that they were alone, and Maggie turned back to Alex. "Violet?" she asked, almost afraid of Alex's response. The fact that they were there and Violet wasn't…

"She ran upstairs, Kara went after her." Alex did her best to offer a reassuring smile, but the truth was she had no idea what had happened. Why Violet had taken off. And she hadn't had a chance to make sure that she was ok.

"Let's go," Maggie forced herself off the ground, unwilling to wait another moment to reunite her family. Dizziness and headache and some less than ideal double vision be damned.

As Alex led (a very shaky) Maggie through the dim hallway and up and out of the bunker, she realized just how far underground they had been. She had just sort of… 'popped' into the room Henshaw had been waiting for her in, and had no idea where she was being held until now. Fucking Lillian Luthor.

Alex refocused, not interested in giving her another thought right now. She slowly helped Maggie up the stairs, silently, and somewhat guiltily, wishing that they could move faster. Any faster. Her heart pounded as they finally saw the top of the stairwell, only one thing on her mind.

 _Violet_.

Violet who had been drugged, kidnapped and tortured at the hands of Lillian Luthor.

Violet who had, once again, offered up her own life to save her mother's.

Violet who had been prepared to sacrifice everything that she had sworn to protect; the world, the future.

Violet who had been ripped from Alex's sight and on to certain death only a few rooms away. While Alex sat, helpless, and prayed to every god that she could think of for a miracle.

And Violet who had bolted before Alex had the chance to embrace her, make sure she was ok. Before she could tell her that she was an idiot. And the bravest most selfless person she had ever met.

Alex needed to hold her. And never let her go.

She pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and paused as she turned back for Maggie, who was holding on to the railing and working to catch her breath. "Go," she forced out, waving Alex ahead, all too aware of how anxious she was to go after Violet. She was too, just not nearly as capable at the moment.

Alex shook her head and forced herself not to listen to her, "it's ok, I'll wait with y—"

"No, you won't, go find Violet," Maggie insisted. Alex wavered slightly, uncertain how to respond. "Danvers. Go. Make sure she's ok," Maggie's voice softened into a plea, and Alex realized Maggie sending her ahead was just as much for herself and her own piece of mind. Alex nodded and tore through the hangar, finally letting herself fall into desperation as she went after her kid.

It didn't take her too long to track Violet and Kara down; with nothing around them there really wasn't much to search. Alex scanned the area quickly before starting around the back of the building, breaking into a run the second her gaze fell on Violet. She was immediately overcome with relieved tears, and didn't even bother trying to hide as she got closer. The moment she reached Violet she grabbed her, pulled her into her arms, and clung to her, fierce and tight, as though she would slip away at any moment.

As though she hadn't nearly lost her to Lillian Luthor – of her own free will no less.

Alex felt Violet's arms come up around her waist and she choked out a sob, holding her head to her cheek and running her fingers through her hair. "Are you ok," she whispered into Violet's hair, unwilling to let her go for even a second.

Violet nodded into Alex's shoulder, and murmured back. "Are you? I'm sorry that—"

Alex sighed and closed her eyes, "I'm fine baby, don't worry about me." She hated that Violet's first and only concern always seemed to be her, with little to no regard for herself.

"And… Maggie?" Alex caught the fear in Violet's voice and briefly looked to Kara, who firmly nodded back at her, silently encouraging her to give Violet the reassurance she needed.

"She's right behind me. She's moving a little slow right now, but she's fine." Alex instantly felt a physical change in Violet, almost like she melted into her, relaxing and relieved. She caught sight of Maggie making her way towards them as she held on to her kid and turned so Violet could see over her shoulder. As soon as Violet saw her, she tore herself from Alex's arms and sniffled as she tried not to cry on her way to meet Maggie halfway.

Alex watched them reach each other and embrace, and smiled to herself. Kara, however, came up behind her and quietly shed some unexpected light on the situation; "You should know… she thought Maggie was dead, and she thought it was her fault."

Alex turned to her, a horrified look on her face. "She what?"

Kara nodded sympathetically. "That's why she ran. She thought she'd basically killed Maggie."

Alex closed her eyes and ran her hands over her face. Of course she blamed herself. That kid carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. "What else did she say?" Alex asked her sister.

Kara kept quiet, remembering how huge the rest of their conversation had been. And how potentially life altering. For Alex and Maggie, some of the 'life altering' would be undoubtedly positive; she knew how much they would both love to know what was coming in regards to Violet. But the rest?

"Lots of little things," Kara lied. "She just kind of unloaded." _That_ part was certainly true…

Alex watched as Maggie looped an arm around Violet's waist and they started to head back their way. "Good. She needs an outlet. I'm glad you can be that for her," Alex turned and gave Kara a hug. "And thank you. For finding us. For getting there in time to—"

Kara stopped her with a quick shake of the head. "Stop. Don't even go there. Just know that I will always come for you. And I will always find you in time." She returned the hug, forcing the 'what-if-I-had-been-even-five-minutes-later' scenarios out of her mind.

Maggie and Violet came up to them, and as Alex reached for Maggie, Kara and Violet shared a knowing look. A look that said 'I know what's coming!' just as much as it said '… I know what's coming.'

Weight of the world.

* * *

It didn't take long for J'onn to arrive on scene, getting there ahead of the rest of the rescue team that the D.E.O. had sent. He had gotten Kara's message that she had found Alex and Violet, and that everyone was ok, but there was a certain relief at seeing them with his own eyes. He'd grown to care for Alex and Kara as if they were his own, and by extension, Maggie and Violet. He didn't want to overstep by inserting himself into the moment they were all sharing, but didn't have a choice once Violet noticed his presence and beckoned him over.

"I'm glad to see you're alright," he smiled softly at her. He gave her a one-armed hug and did his best to remain somewhat close to 'professional', which Violet responded to by turning in to him for a full-on bear hug. J'onn grinned at Alex over Violet's head and tightened his grip. Alex stepped over and J'onn pulled her into the hug as well. "There's a convoy on the way to get you back to the base, we'll get you both checked out once we're there."

"Maggie too," Violet looked up at him, determined. She wasn't taking any chances with her family, not after that.

"Vi, I'm fine," Maggie assured her.

"You were unconscious. If the situation was reversed I think we all know that you both would be absolutely insisting that I get looked at." Maggie closed her mouth as everyone around her looked back and forth amongst themselves, clearly all in agreeance.

Alex cleared her throat and turned her attention to J'onn, serious matters on her mind. "Lillian Luthor and Hank Henshaw are down below in the bunker, locked in a room at the far end of the hallway. Kara and I incapacitated them and I secured them before coming up. I can go with you to collect them if I need to."

J'onn noted the uneasy look on her face as she offered and shook his head. "I think you've dealt with her enough for a lifetime. Just tell me, what… 'state' am I going to find her in?"

"I didn't kill Lillian if that's what you're asking." Alex responded. "I'd be lying if I told you the thought didn't cross my mind though," she mumbled as a follow up.

Kara stood by her sister, understanding the feeling completely. "She may not exactly be in… pristine… condition. Kryptonian punches and human jawlines don't really make for a level playing field." There wasn't a trace of empathy or regret in her voice.

"Well, I can't say I blame you... gives me a chance to make the rest of her life as miserable as possible though," J'onn growled. He turned towards the hangar, simmering. Even just seeing the dirt and grime and blood and exhaustion on Alex and Violet's faces, and the burn marks on Alex's shoulders, he knew he had more than enough rage to take care of Lillian himself.

Alex watched J'onn disappear around the corner and instinctively put one arm around Maggie's waist and the other around Violet. Even the mere thought that Lillian would be on her way up in a matter of minutes, though Alex was sure she would be cuffed or unconscious, had her anxious. She turned and dropped a kiss on Violet's head, closing her eyes as she lingered there, trying to forget how close they came to losing her.

Again.

A cloud of dust appeared on the horizon as the D.E.O. convoy approached. Alex automatically stepped slightly in front of Violet, entirely aware that she was being a little over protective and over cautious, but not caring at all to try and control it. A series of blacked out SUVs pulled up in front of them, stopping abruptly. The front door on the second vehicle opened quickly and Alex quietly exhaled as Lucy stepped out. She pulled off her sunglasses and looked the four women up and down before pulling open the rear door.

"Let's get you guys out of here."


	49. Chapter 49

Alex sat patiently as a nurse set an IV in the back of her hand. Once they had gotten back to the D.E.O., she, Violet, and Maggie had all gotten checked out as promised. Maggie had a bruised rib, but nothing major; no head injury, no concussion, no broken bones or serious concerns from the doctor.

Alex and Violet, however, were another story.

The doctor on site had quickly informed them that they were both severely dehydrated, and that their burns needed to be treated and bandaged to prevent infection. They also had injuries from fighting against restraints; red, raw, and (in Alex's case) bleeding wrists and ankles. Luckily, all their medical issues could be treated with outpatient procedures, so complaining and resistance were minimal.

Once the doctors had set up her IV, started her fluids, and left, Alex and Maggie were alone. Knowing that Violet had been heavily drugged, Alex had insisted that she get some additional testing done. And further insisted that Kara stay with her.

"How are you doing? Really." Maggie asked softly after waiting for Alex to meet her gaze or start talking on her own. She hadn't wanted to push, but she felt like she needed to know what they had gone through. She needed to be able to be there for them both.

"I'm just glad she's ok." Alex whispered. She knew she was going to have to tell Maggie what happened down in that bunker, but for the moment she was still reveling in the relief that she and Violet were both safe – and that they had been rescued before Violet had succeeded in sacrificing her life for Alex's.

"I'm glad you're _both_ ok." Maggie squeezed Alex's fingers, trying to avoid the needle in the back of her hand. "Can you tell me what happened? What you remember? We figured out how Lillian got you—"

"The transport field," Alex interjected.

Maggie nodded, "right. But after that… what did she do to you? What did she want."

"Information. She – _they_ – figured out where Violet was from. And who she is. They wanted her to talk." Alex's stomach flipped as she thought back to Lillian's… 'persuasive techniques'. "They sat Violet and I down in front of each other and she did whatever she could do to get her to talk. If she didn't answer a question, Lillian did something to me. And if I didn't answer a question, or if I spoke up or tried to get to Violet… then she did something to her."

"What does that mean? _Something_?"

Alex glanced down, not especially looking forward to how Maggie was going to respond to the rest of the story. "She had an electric cattle prod."

"Jesus Christ, Danvers, are you fucking kidding me?" Maggie's eyes were on fire. Poor Lillian Luthor was going to wish she was dead after Maggie got through with her.

"That's not actually the worst of it…" Alex mumbled. Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself. "When that… method… didn't work. She changed the game a little. Told us that one of us would talk. And the other one of us would live. That it was one or the other. And that we would choose. Or she would kill us both." Alex raised her eyes to Maggie's, knowing that she would be able to piece the rest together.

Maggie stood up abruptly, dropping Alex's hand. "One of you talks and the other one of you lives. She was going to kill the first one of you to give her what she wanted." Maggie was quiet, direct. Alex nodded. "And Violet took the deal," Maggie finished, closing her eyes in realization.

Alex lowered her head, tears slipping out beneath her closed eyes. "She wanted to save me," she whispered. "She was ready to die, give up everything that she was supposed to be protecting, to save me. Maggie, I tried to stop her, I tried to give myself up instead, but she wouldn't listen. She almost died, and it would have been because of me." Alex hiccupped, tears flowing more steadily.

"Hey. Hey hey hey," Maggie's eyes softened and she sat back down with Alex. "You couldn't have stopped her, not for anything. She thought she was saving your life, there is nothing you could have said or done to make her take that back," she murmured as she took Alex's hands in hers. Alex shook her head and looked to the ceiling, trying to calm herself down.

"If Kara hadn't found me when she did—"

"But she did. And then I found you. And from there I'm all caught up, so let's talk about something else, ok? Like what we're going to do to Lillian Luthor the second we get her alone." Maggie was only about half joking, but Alex smiled and that's what she'd been going for.

They could get back to the serious half of her suggestion another time.

Suddenly Alex dropped the brief smile, sniffled, and turned to Maggie with an inquisitive look on her face. "I know how I ended up in that bunker… but when Henshaw dragged me into the next room and I saw Violet? Maggie, I swear I stopped breathing." She could feel the tears return to her eyes and blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Do we know what happened? How they got her? Lillian wouldn't say anything other than it was messy. I watched everything they did to her in that room, but if there's more…"

"They went after her at the apartment. Gassed her down in the elevator, and once she was out they grabbed her and threw her into the back of a van." Maggie recapped, doing her best to suppress the fury that accompanied the memory.

The look on Alex's face as her words sunk in sent shivers up her spine.

And Maggie had thought _she_ was furious.

"You wanted to talk about what we're going to do to Lillian? Let's talk." Alex growled.

Maggie swept her thumb over the top of Alex's hand, careful of the IV. "Later. For now, let's just get everyone patched up and back home." She watched Alex take a breath and refocus. "Speaking of home, I think it's time we started looking for a house. Or another apartment. Or anywhere that doesn't have a god damned elevator."

Before Alex could respond (with a resounding 'absolutely no more elevators ever again ever'), the door to the triage bay opened and Kara came in; followed closely by Violet and the IV line on the pole that she was pulling around with her. Alex sat up straight, suddenly worried that she was about to hear the Violet wasn't fine. "How'd it go?"

"They said there are still traces of something in my system, but it's not enough to do anything anymore." Violet reported, settling into the treatment chair closest to Alex's.

"They're sure?" Alex pushed, looking to Kara for confirmation. Violet certainly seemed to have gotten through the effects of Cadmus' drug, but with their history? Alex knew that might not be the whole story.

Kara smiled at her, "All good." Alex breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Maggie's hand, subtly out of sight. "Other that a follow up blood test tomorrow afternoon, her protocol is pretty much the same as yours; rehydration, they already sterilized and bandaged her open wounds, first dose of antibiotics and pain meds were injectable, then oral meds to go home tonight."

"We match," Violet mumbled as she closed her eyes and snuggled down into the chair. Maggie hopped off of Alex's chair and wedged herself in next to Violet, who smiled softly though her eyes remained closed.

Alex's heart fluttered as she watched the two of them snuggle up together. Kara sat at the foot of her chair with an odd look on her face and Alex nudged her. "What's up?" she whispered. There was no way Violet was already asleep, but Alex wanted to let her get there as quickly as possible, so she did her best not to disturb her.

Kara pulled her gaze away from Violet and Maggie and looked at Alex. She shook her head, a sad smile lingering. "Just… a long couple days."

"You're telling me," Alex murmured before nodding towards Violet and changing the subject back to her. "Do they know what Lillian gave her?"

Kara nodded. "They think it's related to whatever they used to paralyze the rest of your team back when they grabbed you. Hers was just a little more… potent."

"Of course it was," Alex muttered, anger on her face. "Everyone else came out of it ok though, right? There's no reason to think there are lasting affects?"

"No," Kara shook her head, adamant. "Everyone else is back to 100%. They were all monitored closely until their systems were clear for a full 12 hours. She's close, but they want to be a little extra cautious with her since whatever is in her system was so much stronger."

"Whatever they need to do, we'll do it." Alex turned back to Violet and Maggie, still and peaceful in their chair. Somehow, even in the middle of all this, all she needed to do was look at the two of them and she automatically felt calm.

No fear, no anger, no anxiety. Just... calm.

"'m sorry," Alex heard, barely audible, from Violet's chair. Maggie opened her eyes and pulled back, a confused look on her face. Violet shifted slightly, but her eyes stayed shut.

"Sorry for what?" Alex asked, not even entirely sure that Violet was awake. Maggie looked between them as they waited to see if Violet would respond.

"For all this," Violet mumbled, slowly opening her eyes. "I should have been more careful, maybe then they wouldn't have figured out—"

"No more of that. Shush." Maggie stopped her, wrapped her into a hug, and rested her cheek on the top of Violet's head. "I know you're blaming yourself for this, and I want you to knock it off."

"If it wasn't for me… being here…" Violet looked over to Alex, eyes lingering on her bandaged burns and wrapped wrists.

Alex shook her head and jumped in. "If it wasn't for you a lot of things would be different. And none of them would be better. I promise you, none of this is your fault. The only thing you have done by being here is made everything – _everything_ – in our lives better." She paused, and watched as both Kara and Maggie nodded vigorously.

"You're hurt. You've all been hurt because of me," Violet countered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We get hurt all the time," Alex scoffed and brushed it off. Kara shrugged and agreed. "No one is blaming you, not even a little. It all comes back to Lillian. And trust me, she will get what's coming to her."

Violet didn't have it in her to ask what that meant. She never wanted to see or hear about that woman ever again. She still felt responsible for what Lillian had put her family through, all in an effort to get to _her_. But she allowed Maggie to wipe away the tear that slipped down onto her cheek, and resolved not to dwell on it. For now, safely surrounded by the most important people in her life, she was finally ready to rest.


	50. Chapter 50

Maggie woke suddenly, unsure what had pulled her out of the deep sleep she had finally settled into. The three of them had arrived home late, and while Maggie double (and triple) checked all the locks, Alex and Violet both took their meds, said goodnight, and retreated into their respective rooms, ready to crash. From there it had taken Maggie a while to relax enough to join them. She kept looking over to Alex, who was snoring quietly, and periodically getting up to "go to the bathroom"/peek in on Violet. Maggie rolled over and started to close her eyes when she heard something; a rustle and a… whimper? She turned back to Alex, still out cold next to her, and frowned. Whatever Maggie had heard wasn't coming from her, which meant—

Maggie heard Violet cry out again, and popped out of bed and headed towards her room. As she knocked gently and pushed the door open, she saw a bundle of blankets in the middle of Violet's bed, knotted and twisted up around her. Violet was barely visible amongst the mess, but the bit of her that Maggie could see was tossing and turning, frowning and mumbling in her sleep.

 _Nightmare,_ Maggie realized as she came in to gently wake her. About a month ago, when Violet was still getting settled into the new place, Alex and Maggie woke up to screaming. It had sounded like someone had broken in and was going after Violet, but when they had gotten up – guns drawn and hearts racing – they had found her alone. In bed. Thrashing around, but still very much asleep. Maggie didn't want this nightmare to get anywhere near that.

She seated herself on the edge of Violet's bed and ran a hand along her forearm. Violet immediately quieted at the touch. Hoping that would mean she wouldn't startle awake, Maggie murmured quietly to try and rouse her slowly.

" _Vi,"_ she whispered. " _You're having a nightmare, can you wake up for me?_ " Maggie brushed a strand of sweaty hair out of Violet's face and watched hesitantly as her eyes started to flutter. Once she came around and registered Maggie's face and the familiarity of her own room, her eyes welled up and she latched on to her. Maggie pulled her arms up around Violet and felt her tremble. " _Hey, it's ok. You're ok. You're home and you're safe_." Maggie felt Violet tense up further and tried again. " _Alex and I are safe too. Everyone's ok_ ," she murmured into Violet's ear. With that she felt a hiccup and a nod into her shoulder as Violet finally started to relax a little bit.

Maggie sat there, silently holding Violet, for a few minutes before she felt her start to detach. It was dark in the room, but she could clearly make out Violet's puffy eyes and tear stained face. "You wanna tell me what happened?" Maggie asked, reaching out to wipe a falling tear.

Violet shook her head and wiped her own face. "Don't remember," she mumbled, looking down at her bed and fiddling with the edge of one of her blankets.

 _Bullshit_ , thought Maggie, but didn't push her. "Come on," she said as she stood up. Violet looked up at her with an inquisitive look on her face and stayed put. Maggie reached down and offered her a hand, "our bed is plenty big enough, and it's really good at keeping nightmares away." She joked, knowing that was a childish idea, but Violet smiled and shook her head as she got up to follow her.

As Maggie guided her through the door to their room Violet paused, noting Alex sprawled out across the bed. "She's _really_ asleep, are you sure this is—"

"In." Maggie interrupted her and pointed.

Alex started to stir at the movement on the other side of the bed, and opened an eye to see what the commotion was. She expected to see Maggie shifting around, trying to get comfortable. She _didn't_ expect to see her pulling back blankets and directing Violet into the middle of the bed. That was a first. "Hey," she mumbled, suddenly concerned. "Everything ok?"

Violet froze but Maggie answered. "Bad dreams all around, felt like a night for everyone to stick together." Alex didn't need to delve any deeper into the reasoning, she just gave them both a tired smile and scooted over, patting the empty space next to her. Violet relaxed and climbed in, followed quickly by Maggie who found her spot and soon closed her eyes.

Violet lay between them; rigid, tense, and staring at the ceiling. One of the few memories she had of both her moms involved a thunderstorm and her taking refuge in their bed, tucked between them as the thunder crashed and lightning blew up the sky outside their window. She remembered feeling safe, warm, and loved. And like nothing in the world could touch her. That must have been right before Maggie was killed, because that was one of the last, most vivid memories she had of her.

But tonight, it felt more foreign. Like she was out of place and imposing. Once she felt Alex and Maggie settle, listened to their breathing become more rhythmic as they both drifted off, she strongly considered slipping out of bed and leaving. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep in her own room, but at least she wouldn't feel so intrusive.

The second she shifted, even started to make a move, Alex reached out and rested her hand on Violet's. Violet felt the gentle caress of Alex's thumb and looked to see if she was awake and watching her. Eyes closed, Alex murmured quietly, "s'ok. Stay. Go to sleep." For some reason that was all Violet needed. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and allowed herself to just clear her mind. She felt herself start to slip in and out, and relaxed into it. All at once she realized she felt safe. And warm. And loved.

Kara waited patiently at the apartment door for someone to let her in. It was very much against her nature, but she'd been informed that Alex and Violet were both still sleeping and didn't want to risk waking them. Maggie had texted, asking her to come by and stay with Alex while Maggie brought Violet back in to the D.E.O. for some follow up work, so Kara was planning for a sister day.

Kara squared her shoulders as Maggie unlocked the door (and the deadbolt and the chain lock) and opened it quietly. She noted the content smile on Maggie's face and couldn't help but feel a little guilty for knowing what was coming. She silently followed Maggie inside and accepted the cup of coffee she offered her.

"How'd they do last night?" Kara asked, trying to shake the guilt from her mind. She had recognized the exhaustion in her sister's face and knew how badly she had wanted to just get home, and expected that she'd probably just passed out once she got there. Maggie shrugged and took a sip of coffee as they sat down together.

"Alex could have slept through the damn apocalypse. Well," she reconsidered, "almost. Violet had some trouble, and Alex woke up for her." Kara frowned, not surprised but still sorry to hear it. "They're actually in there together," Maggie gestured towards the closed bedroom door and smiled. Kara followed her gaze and couldn't help but smile back, stuck on the thought of Alex and Violet curled up and asleep in bed together.

"Is it weird that I just wanted to stay in there and watch them sleep?" Maggie asked as she leaned forward and dropped her voice.

Kara shook her head. "If I were you I probably wouldn't have left." She took another sip and averted her eyes, heart leaping up into her throat as she recalled what Violet had told her. She desperately wanted to tell Maggie that the kid in there was hers, but dreaded the follow up. And she had promised Violet...

Maggie seemed not to notice and leaned back, sighing peacefully to herself. "I don't know how to explain it; it just feels like this is right, like it's supposed to be the three of us."

"Maybe it is," Kara shrugged and tried not to give anything away.

"Yeah. Maybe." Maggie murmured, a faraway look in her eye. Kara stopped herself from continuing, fiddling with her coffee cup instead. They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in thought.

Maggie shook her head and returned to the conversation. "I know we need to keep trying to get her home, but it would be weird without her. You know? She just… fits."

"I know," Kara smiled sadly, "and I know it's selfish, but I'm almost glad it's taking them so long to get her home. Even though she'll show up here eventually, and we'll get to see her grow up, but it'll be so long until she's _this_ Violet. I just want to enjoy it while I can."

"Me too," Maggie grinned. She knew that the longer Violet stayed the more danger she, and everyone else, would be in. But especially not knowing what the future held? It made the present that much more precious. "Obviously I hope we can figure it out—"

"Obviously," Kara jumped in to agree.

"—it's just so far beyond what anyone is doing right now. Even the military hasn't been able to figure that damn wristband out." Kara nodded, she'd been checking in with Winn regularly about his collaboration with the military personnel that Lucy had provided. So far little to no progress.

Maggie looked down at her watch and hopped up. "Crap. I hate to wake her up, but she's supposed to have her recheck in like an hour." Kara took one last swig of her coffee and placed her mug down as she stood, ready for sister duty.

Maggie started towards the bedroom and silently unlatched the doorknob to push the door open. What she saw made her heart flutter; Alex and Violet, sleeping soundly, curled into each other. Maggie smiled to herself as she crept into the room and placed a kiss above Violet's ear before dropping into a whisper and murmuring quietly to wake her. Some sleepy blinking and a stiff stretch and Violet rolled over to slip out of bed.

Violet shuffled out of the bedroom and saw Kara, who received a tired smile and a hug. Maggie was almost out the door when she heard a groggy voice behind her. "Hey. Where you going?"

"Taking Violet in for her follow up, go back to sleep," she whispered back into darkness. "Kara's here if you need anything." Not two seconds later, there was rustling and Maggie rolled her eyes as she heard Alex's feet hit the floor.

"Gimme ten, I'll come with you."

"Al, you're supposed to be resting." Maggie argued half-heartedly, already knowing it was a waste of breath.

"I'll rest later. She's my kid too, I'm coming with to make sure she's ok."

 _My kid too_, Maggie repeated in her head and her heart soared. "You sure?" she tried to ignore her own mushy reaction and eyed Alex suspiciously, fully aware that she would push herself too hard if left to her own devices.

Alex nodded and slipped out the door past her. "I'm sure. And this way Kara doesn't need to stay here and babysit me."

"A sister day is not babysitting," Kara defended herself, knowing how much Alex hated to be coddled. "The timing just happened to work out…" Violet smirked nearby as she headed to her room to get dressed.

"Either way," Alex reiterated as she pulled on a sweatshirt. Kara glanced at Maggie before shrugging and accepting it. Maggie sighed and dropped her head, defeated.

Not worth the argument.


	51. Chapter 51

Alex, Maggie, Violet, and Kara made their way through the D.E.O., having turned Violet's follow up into a family affair. Violet kept insisting that she felt fine, at least as far as mind altering mystery drugs were concerned, but never the less she had an entire support system behind her. Just in case.

Kara had considered going back home, but the reality was she had been relieved when Maggie had texted her to come stay with Alex. She was doing her best to give them space, but desperately wanted to stay with her sister, if only to remind herself that she hadn't lost her to Lillian Luthor. So, it seemed only natural for her to tag along as well. Maybe sister day, or sister day plus honorary-sister and time-traveled niece, could commence afterwards.

As they made their way through the rotunda, Kara noticed long dark hair on a hesitant frame. Nervously waiting for… something.

"Lena?" Kara asked. She found herself caught off guard and did a mental check to make sure she was fully in Kara Danvers mode and not Supergirl mode as she broke away to go talk to her.

"Kara," Lena turned and smiled, "I didn't realize I'd be seeing you here."

"I, uh, we all came in with Violet," she fumbled. "They need to do some follow up testing. And I just kind of… wanted to make sure everything's ok too."

Lena dropped her smile, "Testing. Because of something my mother did I assume. I'm so sorry that she put you all through that—"

Kara grabbed Lena's hand and stopped her, "Stop. You don't have to apologize for her." Lena's smile returned and Kara matched it as her family came up behind her. Sensing their presence, Kara stepped back to make introductions.

"Lena, you know my sister and her girlfriend. And this is Violet…" Kara paused and caught Alex's eye before she continued, "my niece."

She held her breath and watched her sisters face. They hadn't exactly had this conversation yet, about what Kara had said to convince Lena to help her, and she wasn't sure how Alex would feel about the fact that Lena knew everything – well, almost everything.

Lena nodded towards Alex and Maggie, notably uncomfortable at the prospect of facing her mother's victims. She attempted to cover her uneasiness with politeness, turning her attention to Violet. "It's good to meet you Violet, I've heard a lot about you." Violet beamed and opened her mouth to respond, but before they got any further Alex stepped in and pulled Lena into a hug.

"Thank you," she murmured into Lena's ear. "Kara told us what you did for us. It's entirely possible that we're only alive because of you." Lena relaxed, recovering from the shock of the unexpected hug.

"I'm just glad I could help," Lena responded as Alex let her go and returned to Violet's side. Kara beamed as she looked between them, thrilled that Alex had accepted her presence so readily.

"Miss Luthor," J'onn approached them, interrupting. "Thank you for coming in."

"You asked to see her? So, you're not here to see Supergirl?" Maggie asked, aware of how much Lena knew about the situation. And how much she didn't. Kara relaxed, relieved that she wouldn't have to add blatant deception to her list of duties for the day. _That would certainly complicate things…_

J'onn nodded and explained. "The D.E.O. was only able to recover Alex and Violet because of information provided by Miss Luthor. We requested that she come in for a debriefing. About the device and tracking its location. And its potential implications going forward."

"And I figured that I should be here when they ship her off anyway," Lena's face fell as the piece of her that felt responsible for her mother's actions surfaced once again.

Alex immediately interjected; "Wait, she's still here? She hasn't been moved yet?" She felt Violet tense up, and reached down to take her hand.

 _Great,_ J'onn thought to himself. He'd been hoping that with Alex out of the building he would be able to avoid this conversation. "She required some medical attention," (Kara nonchalantly averted her gaze, remembering the crunch she felt as Lillian fell), "and once her jaw was reset she was moved to solitary maximum security holding while we get transfer papers in order. The place she's going… it takes some time to get the proper verification for something like that."

"Violet," Alex started, "go ahead up to medical, I need to talk to J'onn for a minute." Violet stayed put, torn between fear and concern. Even just the thought that Lillian was in the same building right now had her on edge. Alex softened at her reluctance, and called in backup. "Kara, can you and Lena go with her?" Kara nodded and Alex squeezed Violet's hand, "it's fine, we'll be up in a bit." Violet bit her lip but allowed herself to but pulled from the group and guided upstairs.

Alex watched her leave and attempted to stifled her anger before turning back to J'onn. "Let me talk to her."

"Agent Danvers—"

"Just for a minute. You can watch us, make sure she doesn't do anything."

"That's not what I'm worried about," J'onn responded, lowering his voice.

"J'onn," Alex tried a softer approach. "I need this. I won't do anything to her, I just need to look her in the face and watch her understand that she's lost."

J'onn took a moment to think it over before reluctantly nodding in approval. He held his finger to his earpiece and notified Lillian's guards that she was about to have a visitor.

Alex turned to Maggie, ready to ask her to stay with Violet. Maggie preemptively shook her head. "You're not going down there alone. Kara's with Violet, I'm coming with you."

* * *

Alex and Maggie stood and watched Lillian; cool, unfazed and smug on the other side of the two-way mirror. Alex couldn't help but feel a surge of pride when she noted the massive purple bruise on her cheek.

She'd have to remember to thank Kara for that one.

"You sure you want to do this," Maggie asked quietly. "You don't have to. We can leave this part to J'onn and just forget she ever existed."

Alex shook her head, "There are some things I need to say to her…" She squared her shoulders and tried to shake off some of the heavily emotional fear and anger she felt just seeing Lillian before she opened the door to her solitary cell block.

Lillian stood up in her cell and sneered at the two of them as they entered, casually peering around them as the door closed. "What, no Violet? It hardly seems worth the visit if I don't get to continue my chat with the littlest Danvers." Her words were slightly slurred, like the way she held her mouth when she spoke was entirely dependent on how painful it was. "After all, we have a deal to hold up."

"You will never lay eyes on her again as long as you live," Maggie growled, unable to keep her mouth shut. Lillian chuckled, pleased with how easily it seemed to be to get under the detective's skin.

Alex didn't appreciate Lillian's goading, and stepped in. "Enjoy yourself while you can. You're going to spend the rest of your life in a hole. No visitors, no explanation, no closure, no public story or outcry. You're simply going to disappear. Cadmus will suddenly become a thing of the past, and no one will even think twice about it."

Lillian crossed her arms, her signature smug look remained plastered in place. "That sounds like a lovely plan. But you're forgetting who you're talking to. I have people who will look for me, who will stop at nothing to get me out."

Alex shifted nonchalantly, making it clear how little of a threat that really was. "Any Cadmus operatives that get close will be apprehended. We have permission from the President herself to invoke the Patriot Act. Indefinite detainment for the sake of national security."

Maggie thought she saw a glimpse of uncertainty in Lillian's eyes, but she recovered quickly and returned to her icy stare. Maggie was certain she was trying to figure out if Alex was bluffing. Which, thankfully, she wasn't. With Lucy now in charge of the Cadmus investigation they were suddenly able to take more liberties when it came to the rights and laws regarding the investigation and its suspects.

"And what if it's not Cadmus? What are you going to do if it's an innocent, who simply believes in due process and protecting her mother's rights."

Before Alex could respond she heard a scoff from Maggie, who was thrilled that she could be the one to deliver this piece of news. "You mean Lena? Lena is how we _found_ you. You must have figured that out. She and Kara worked side by side to track you down so we could bring you in. She's here right now, actually. Upstairs, with the rest of the D.E.O. waiting patiently for your sendoff to the darkest black site on the planet." Maggie paused, "or off planet, I really don't care."

"So that's what I have to look forward to, then? Solitary confinement for all of eternity?" Lillian belittled. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, but it certainly didn't frighten her.

"Sort of," Alex shrugged. This was what she had been waiting for, the speech she had repeated in her head in preparation for her face to face with the woman who had almost destroyed one of the most important things in her life.

She leaned in. "You see, someday, just when you think you've gone as mad as you can possibly go, the moment that everyone has stopped caring, has forgotten who you are or why you're there… the second you become background noise, know that I – that _we_ – will be back to pay you a visit. And on that day? We will make sure you remember every little thing you did to Violet. To me. To all of us. We'll make sure you get to relive every single moment, to experience it first-hand. And once you've lost your voice, gone hoarse from begging like she did – from screaming and pleading like I did – only then will I let up, for the briefest of moments. And you _will_ find yourself remorseful, even if only in the very last seconds of your life, and for the most selfish of reasons…"

Alex leaned in closer, until she was but inches from Lillian's face on the other side of the bars, and dropped her voice to a firm whisper. "And _that_ is the moment that I will allow you to die. In the slowest, most painful way that I can imagine. And I'm willing to wait years, to give myself aallll that time. To imagine. And perfect."

Lillian stared back at her in frozen silence. No cocky comeback. No attitude. No smug smile on her face.

" _That_ is what you have to look forward to." Maggie finished immediately before she and Alex turned to leave Lillian alone with her thoughts. It was cathartic, seeing that smile disappear from Lillian's face. Sure, she would have loved to put hands on her, to make her bleed and hear breaking bones and painful screams.

But that would come later. Like Alex said, they could wait.


	52. Chapter 52

Violet clenched her jaw as Dr. Hamilton stuck her, having turned her head away before the needle actually made contact. She was fine with blood and with needles, she hadn't really had a choice lately, but still didn't exactly enjoy watching herself get stabbed.

Dr. Hamilton filled the waiting blood tubes and took off her exam gloves before standing. "You shouldn't have to wait too long; the results are processed fairly quickly."

"Good deal. And when it comes back clear… no more needles? Not that this hasn't been a _ton_ of fun." Violet added as sarcastically as she could manage with her voice as raspy and hoarse as it still was.

The doctor smiled back at her with a shrug and Violet dropped her head, knowing full well that was a no. "Even if it comes back clear we'll probably want to do at least one more spot check in a week to verify."

"UGH, fine." Violet groused, faking annoyance. In all honesty, she completely understood the concern, and would be lying if she said she wasn't anxious herself. No one wants to have Cadmus remnants coursing through their veins, and if it took a few more blood draws to be certain it was gone… that was actually more than fine with her.

Violet watched her leave and rubbed her arm as Kara hopped up on the exam table next to her. "All good?" she asked and Violet nodded. "You sure? You've been kind of quiet today."

"Yeah, my throat's just still pretty sore," Violet offered up as her excuse. Not _un_ true… just not entirely true either.

"You do kind of sound like you're still getting your voice back. Is that all?" Kara didn't like feeling like she was pushing, but especially now that she knew what Violet was constantly worried about… she couldn't help but remember Alex's words and feel like she was Violet's only outlet.

"Well, sort of." Violet had to remind herself that she didn't have to lie to Kara, not about this. "I was just thinking… if taking down Lillian really does mean Cadmus is done… does that mean Maggie is safe?"

Kara made herself look Violet in the eye, knowing what desperate hope she was going to find there. "I don't know. I hope so. But either way… our deal still stands. You don't worry about this anymore. We're going to find a way to get you home, and the rest is on me."

Violet nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop worrying entirely, but willing to try. "If it is true, that Cadmus is gone… it would be kind of ironic, you know? You guys might not have captured her if she hadn't come after us. And if that's the reason that Cadmus falls? Then Lillian sort of saved Maggie _for_ me."

Kara could certainly see the irony, but she was also acutely aware of the fact that it wasn't such a straight line from cause to effect. Violet was ignoring the time travel and near death and literal torture that she had suffered. All the things that had happened surrounding the D.E.O.'s ability to put an end to Cadmus that Violet should take credit for. As far as she was concerned, if the downfall of Cadmus really did result in Maggie's safety, it was still Violet that was responsible for saving her life.

"Everyone ok in here?" Kara looked up to see Lena hovering near the door. She'd insisted on waiting outside once Dr. Hamilton showed up, privacy issues and all that. Violet had said she didn't care, but Kara understood; she and Lena had only just met, and it was sort of an off-putting situation. The awkwardness was understandable.

"All set. Pink Band-Aid and everything," Violet held up her arm and showed off the bandage over the puncture site as proof.

"Very nice," Lena slipped into a warm smile as she entered the medical bay. "Though I have to say, you don't exactly strike me as a pink person…" Kara grinned at Lena, impressed with her spot-on analysis. In fact, she distinctly remembered Violet's very stubborn 'nothing pink' condition when they had all tried to take her shopping.

"Last time I was here there was a sparkly cast." Violet informed her, dry and unamused. "Trust me, this is an improvement." She wasn't sure who had thought the hot pink sparkles on her cast would be a good idea, but she'd been more than ready to get it off when the time came.

"I would definitely say so," Lena stopped at the foot of the exam table, an uncomfortable silence fell over the room as Violet smiled and looked down without responding. Kara knew them both very well, and had a good idea what their minds were both preoccupied with.

"So," Violet, still looking down at her hands, broke the silence, "your mom is the one that… you know."

Lena swallowed, ready to face the music. "Yes. Kara told me what she did to you…" Kara sat silently, tense as she wondered where Violet was going with this. No one would blame her for being upset, but it had taken a lot for Kara to even begin to convince Lena that she had nothing to do with her mother's actions, and she was a little worried Violet was gearing up to say something that would undo that.

"Yeah… I don't really want to talk about that… I just. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to go against her, to help track her down, knowing what might happen. So, I wanted to make sure you knew how grateful I am." Violet slowly raised her eyes to meet Lena's. There were plenty of people who had saved her life over the years that she had never gotten the chance to thank. When Lillian had brought all of that flooding back… Violet had vowed not to let anyone else's sacrifices for her go unappreciated.

Kara leaned over and draped an arm around Violet's shoulders, immensely proud of her. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she'd been worried. As she turned her attention back to Lena, she could swear she saw her blink back tears. There was an exhale and a relieved smile and Lena's shoulders sagged as she visibly relaxed.

"Thank you. For saying that. What she did… I had to help. I couldn't condone what she was doing, and she had to be stopped. I'm only sorry I couldn't have helped get you both out of there sooner." Lena, suddenly much more comfortable in her own skin, turned to find a chair and pulled it over.

"It's all over now," Kara interjected, pretty sure they were all ready to talk about something else. Violet nodded in agreement and pulled her legs up onto the exam table and crossed them, settling into a more comfortable position.

"Kara said you run your family's company?" she mentioned, taking the hint and moving on.

"I do; L-Corp. It's been a family company, but I'm working on rebranding it. Obviously, we didn't exactly have a spotless image, what with my brother and mother working together. But it's turning around, becoming something better." Violet nodded, showing interest but playing dumb. She knew all about L-Corp, it had always been a force for good where she was from. Everything from arming the D.E.O. with cutting edge weapons and technology, to providing citywide surveillance and protection from Dominator terror.

As Lena and Violet continued to talk about L-Corp, and then some of the interesting new Research and Development projects that L-Corp was working on, and then just… anything… Kara sat back and watched as they jumped from topic to topic, impressed at how well Violet was holding her own with the scientific genius that Lena brought to the table. She loved how easily they had seemed to fall into a comfortable conversation. All thoughts of Lillian and her relation to one of them and behavior towards the other were just gone.

A knock on the door pulled Kara from her thoughts and temporarily stopped Lena and Violet's discussion as they looked up and saw Lucy standing there, waiting to be invited in.

"How's everything looking so far?" she asked hesitantly. "Any concerns?" She'd been notified that Alex and Maggie were on site and with Lillian, so she had slipped away from her post in the D.E.O. command center for a moment. It hadn't taken long for her to grow tired of the "hurry up and wait" position they were in as they waited for everything regarding Lillian Luthor to be finalized and ready for the next step. This little… 'break'… felt warranted.

Violet, now sidetracked from her conversation with Lena, seemed oblivious to the awkwardness and shook her head. "Nothing to worry about, they're checking bloodwork and hopefully it'll be all clear and we can all just put this behind us." She paused, waiting for a response, but Lucy just nodded and shifted on her feet. "Thanks, by the way. For coming to get us yesterday." Lucy may not have made one of the sacrifices that Violet was so intent on recognizing, but she was still partially responsible for getting them out of that hole and back home.

Kara noted a hint of redness in Lucy's face as she stammered and shrugged off Violet's thanks. "It's, uh, don't mention it. Just doing my job. I'm just glad you – _all_ of you – you guys… were ok. So." Kara stifled a snicker and once Lucy excused herself and started to leave, she hopped down to follow her. Violet called out a quick 'goodbye' and turned her attention back to Lena.

"Lucy? You good?" Kara asked as she caught up with her.

"Yeah, fine, of course, I just figured I maybe shouldn't be here when Alex and Maggie get back. J'onn told me they were down with Lillian so I figured I had a window to check on... everything." Lucy averted her gaze, a poor attempt at indifference.

"Makes sense," Kara accepted, still hiding a smile. "You uh, you looked a little red in there—"

Lucy brought her hands up to hide her face. "Shhh. I can't even look at her the same way," she mumbled. After a beat, she pulled her hands away and just vented. "I just see a baby Alex. And then an adult Alex. With a gun. And excellent marksmanship."

"She _IS_ kind of perfect though," Kara teased.

"Oh my god, Kara you're going to get me killed." Lucy's eyes widened and her face went an even deeper shade of red.

There were few things in this world that could truly scare Major Lucy Lane, but the thought of getting on Alex's bad side – on maternal and protective Alex's bad side – was definitely one of them.


	53. Chapter 53

Kara would have loved to keep teasing Lucy, but she soon heard Alex and Maggie and knew they were on their way up. Lucy shut her mouth as they came into view, and Kara dropped her playful attitude and stepped away from the door to the medical bay, meeting them part way there.

"Hey. You guys ok?" she asked privately as she walked the rest of the hallway with them. She couldn't help her concern; with everything Lillian Luthor had done, she doubted that facing her had been easy for her sister.

Alex forced a smile. "Yeah. Said our piece. Ready to let someone else deal with her for a while."

Lucy, now that they had gotten close enough for her to overhear the conversation, took the hint and reassured her. "Where she's going… she's never getting out. I can promise you that. And whatever information you need, for verification or peace of mind… I'll make sure you have it."

"Thank you." Alex smiled at Lucy, who nodded and turned to leave in an effort to hide her flushed face, before glancing back at Kara. "Everything ok up here?"

"Just waiting on lab results, Lena's hanging with her right now. Nothing exciting on her physical."

"Good." Maggie headed in to the medical bay to wait with them. Alex hung back with Kara, who noticed her hesitation and waited patiently with her. She watched her sister frown as Maggie approached Violet and Lena, gave Violet's hand a squeeze, and sat down.

"Hey," Kara murmured and nudged her. "Are you really ok? Everything's finally starting to turn around—"

"Don't jinx it," Alex mumbled, frown deepening. She quickly caught herself, relaxed her face and sighed. "We have to get her home," she stated, sad and somber. After facing off against Lillian she was reminded how Violet felt about being trapped in the past, how she saw herself; futureless and expendable and willing to prove it. "It's too dangerous for her to be here now. Even with Lillian in custody…"

"I know," Kara agreed. "I'll talk to Winn. We'll find a way. I promise." Alex nodded with a sad smile and Kara noted the tears in her eyes. She wrapped her sister in a hug, doing her best to be supportive of the onslaught of emotions that she was obviously grappling with.

They all knew that this wasn't the way things were supposed to be; with Violet here and in the middle of everything so much longer than expected. They knew that she didn't belong here, not yet. That she had to get home. And that the proper timeline, the timeline where Alex (and Maggie, if Kara had anything to say about it) found Violet and raised her and watched her grow up, was still on its way.

But all of that meant absolutely nothing for the insurmountable heartbreak that Alex was going to feel when Violet disappeared.

"Guys?" Kara and Alex looked up at the quiet interruption, turning to see Violet's very worried face in the doorway. "What's wrong?"

Alex reached out for Violet and pulled her into the hug. "Nothing's wrong, just haven't had much sister time lately." Kara smiled to herself; it was nice to know that she wasn't the only one missing her sister.

"Maggie said you guys talked to Lillian," Violet stated as she returned the hug, in case it wasn't clear what was on her mind.

Alex rested a hand on the back of Violet's head and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "We did. But don't worry about that, ok? She's going away for good, and Cadmus is on its way out. There's nothing she can say to change that." Violet nodded, looking away to meet Kara's eyes. Hopefully this was all true. But if for some reason it wasn't, if Cadmus rose again and Maggie's life was still in danger… she trusted her aunt, trusted _Kara_ , to find the right solution.

Alex pointed Violet towards Dr. Hamilton, who was looking over some paperwork at the other end of the hallway. "I think that's our cue."

Violet took a deep breath and tried to remind herself that she felt absolutely fine. That being said, the sooner there was diagnostic confirmation that she was, in fact, fine, the better. After some quick mental self-reassurance, she made a move back towards the medical bay and Alex and Kara followed. Maggie looked to Alex as they entered the room, dropping her conversation with Lena in favor of the update that appeared to be waiting on Alex's face.

"Hamilton looks like she's on her way in," Alex notified her, doing her best not to give away how anxious she was. Once these tests came back normal, once this final cloud of concern hanging over their heads was out of the way, they could really truly start to put this whole ordeal behind them.

Lena cleared her throat and stood, "I'll leave you—"

"You don't have to," Violet jumped in. She liked Lena, and saw no reason for her to leave on her account. "She's either going to tell us I'm in the clear, which doesn't exactly need to be private information, or that there's still something to worry about. In which case, they'll probably ask you for help anyway. Since the drug was your mom's…"

Lena shifted, uncomfortable with the idea that she may be intruding. She looked to Kara for guidance, who smiled at her and shrugged. "She's probably right. And if she doesn't care…"

Before anyone could argue any further, or express concern or assurance, Dr. Hamilton walked in. "Well I can't say I've missed having you all here," she started. It hadn't been nearly long enough since the Danvers clan had vacated her medical bay. "Luckily, I don't think there's any reason to keep you all here very long." She smiled at Violet, who stayed frozen in place.

"I'm clear?" she asked, wanting to make sure she was absolutely certain that's what the doctor was saying. As Dr. Hamilton nodded and grinned, the entire atmosphere of the room changed. Like a weight lifted off everyone's shoulders all at once.

"You'll need to come back next week for one final recheck, but we found no traces of the drug in your system. Given that, it would be extremely surprising for anything to pop up at this point, but I still want you to keep an eye out for anything that feels abnormal." Violet grinned and nodded vigorously as Maggie and Alex both stood to embrace her, overwhelmingly grateful.

"Now that the good news has been delivered, why don't you both," Dr. Hamilton nodded to Alex and Violet, who was now wrapped securely in her mothers' arms, "go home and rest and recover like you're supposed to."

Alex deflated slightly. "We were supposed to have a sister day," she all but whined, catching Kara's eye. With everything that had been going on recently, she had really been looking forward to it. Regardless of her complaint that it was just a babysitting cover story that morning.

"What if I come by tonight? I can find something to do until you guys are up and around." Kara suggested. She kind of wanted to stay and make sure Lena was ok. She didn't expect it would be easy for her to watch her mother get shipped off in restraints, no matter what she'd done to deserve it.

Alex paused before complaining; now that she finally had a chance to take a second… she was pretty fucking exhausted… "Ok fine. But you're definitely coming by," she demanded.

"Definitely. Now go home and go back to sleep."

* * *

Kara and Lena spent the next couple hours waiting in the D.E.O.'s civilian center for something to happen with Lilian's transfer. Kara was careful not to make it too obvious that she knew the D.E.O. on a 'much more than just a civilian' level, which was much easier to do with them cordoned off like that. Lena was working on something, and they soon fell into an easy, comfortable silence. Kara found herself constantly glancing over to Lena, trying to figure out how to casually bring up something that had been nagging at her since L-Corp the other day…

"Kara," Lena directed without looking up.

"What," Kara asked innocently.

"You need something. What is it."

 _Busted_ , Kara thought. _Might as well just dive right in_ … "I have a question—"

"Kara, J'onn said you were in here," Winn barged in, absentmindedly flipping through something on his tablet. "I need to run diagnostics on your suit, Maggie mentioned the tracker started cutting in and out before she got to you—" Winn stopped short as he finally looked up and realized they were not alone. "Um. Hi. Lena."

Kara froze. Her mind was spiraling between what she was going to do about Winn… and what she was going to do _to_ Winn. "Winn," she started through clenched teeth. How the hell was she going to explain her way out of that? Winn slowly started to back up, ready to bolt.

"Relax Kara. I figured out you were one in the same months ago." Lena dryly interrupted, and looked back down at whatever it was that she'd been working on, unfazed.

Kara stared, dumbfounded, "You knew? Why didn't you say anything!" After all the stressing that she'd done over how Lena would react; to Supergirl, to all the secrets and lies… to everything that Lillian had told her would be a deal breaker for Lena.

Winn took the opportunity to take off before a certain someone 'helped' him disappear.

"Kara. It's your secret. I figured you would tell me when you were ready," she explained, almost surprised that Kara had to ask. "Or not. It made perfect sense that you would want to keep your identity from a Luthor."

"What?" Kara was confused. That wasn't it at all. "Lena, I would never judge you based on your family. I just liked that you… liked me for me. Not for my flying alien self…" Kara looked down, almost ashamed. Lena was having none of it, and reached over to tilt her face back up towards hers with a gentle finger on Kara's chin.

"Of course I like you for you. Who wouldn't?" Kara searched Lena's eyes for any indication that she was lying or upset, and grinned when she found nothing.

"I'm starting to think I'm a lot worse at hiding this than I thought," she joked.

"It would certainly seem so," Lena quipped, a playful glint in her eye. "Now. You said you had a question for me."

Kara squared her shoulders, back to the matter at hand. "Yes. The other day, when I told you about Violet—"

"She's incredible by the way." Lena interrupted her, recalling the conversation they'd shared.

"She is." Kara couldn't help but grin, momentarily letting herself forget where she was going with this. But as much as she wanted to stop and pretend everything was fine, she pulled herself back. She had to know; "when I asked you for help, I brought up time travel. And you said something..."

Lena paused; this information wasn't public, nowhere near public in fact. "We – or more accurately, _I_ – may be working on something like that…"

Kara held her breath in anticipation. "I have one more favor to ask."


	54. Chapter 54

"Did you know that Lena knows I'm Supergirl!?" Alex whirled around to see Kara march in through the open door to the balcony.

"Jesus Kara! You almost gave me a damn heart attack," she responded as she tried to get her very sensitive fight-or-flight instinct back under control. The fact that she hadn't dropped the plate she had pulled out of the dishwasher was its own mini miracle.

"Sorry," Kara apologized, a sheepish wince appearing on her face. When Alex had texted her that they were all up and around she hadn't responded, she'd just shown up. "Didn't mean to spook you… just a little preoccupied."

"Right, Lena." Alex slowed her breathing and turned her attention to what Kara was stressing out about. "I mean. I can't say I'm surprised… you two do spend an awful lot of time together, and she's not blind."

Kara huffed indignantly. "Well. Whatever. I just wish I knew that _she_ knew. You know? I spent all this time worrying about what would happen when she finally figured it out. Lilian told me that Lena would hate me when she found out, so I tried even harder to keep that from happening." Kara finished, realizing how that sounded the instant the words left her mouth…

"Kar, you know you can't trust a damn word out of that woman's mouth," Alex interrupted her thoughts, voicing the same conclusion that she had reached herself. "I'm sure she only said all that to mess with your head in the first place. Think about it; one of Lena's strongest, healthiest relationships is with _you_ , probably one of the people that Lilian hates the most. Of course she would want to sabotage that."

Kara furrowed her brow, annoyed at how much fun Lilian must have had knowing that she was able to mess with her like that. She shook off her frustration and reminded herself that it no longer mattered. "Yeah well, she's gone now. The D.E.O. loaded her up and transported her. Lucy and J'onn went with to make absolutely certain nothing went south."

"Good. I've been in contact with J'onn on and off, last I heard things were going exactly as planned." Alex was having trouble feeling like she needed to know every little detail, for Violet's peace of mind and her own, and at the same time hating Lilian Luthor so much that she didn't want to give her another thought. Ever again.

Kara looked around as Alex turned, having finished putting dishes away. Now that she'd gotten the most important thing on her mind off her shoulders she found herself noticing the all too quiet apartment. "Where are Maggie and Violet?" she asked as she followed Alex over to the couch.

"They actually ran out to grab some food." Alex swallowed hard as she said it; the brief conversation with Kara had been a welcome distraction, but the fact that the two of them were out and about still had her stomach in knots.

"Maggie took Violet out of your sight? And you _let_ her? That's shocking," Kara teased, faking her surprise.

"Hilarious. We needed ice cream and snacks for tonight." Alex told her and made a face.

She _didn't_ , however, tell Kara that they had agreed to check in with each other every ten minutes. Or that Maggie had desperately tried to convince Violet to stay home. Or that their final compromise included a half mile radius and a firm 'there and back' rule. Or that Alex was still extremely nervous and compulsively checking her watch.

"I'm just messing with you." Kara lowered her voice and offered her sister a reassuring smile. "I know how worried you were the last time Violet got hurt. I'm proud of you for being able to ease up with her. With them." Kara knew how hard of a time Alex had had before.

"I know she's safe with Maggie. And even if there was the tiniest part of me that didn't believe that before, after everything she did to find us… there's no doubt in my mind." Alex smiled to herself, thinking how lucky she was to have that kind of ride or die support.

"She's pretty great," Kara agreed, stopping herself from divulging any additional information. Like the fact that Maggie was, and was going to be, every bit a mother to Violet as Alex was.

Before she could dwell too much on that secret, the one that hurt her heart to keep, she quickly changed the subject. "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about really quick. Before we start movie night. And don't be mad; just let me explain, ok?" Alex narrowed her eyes but allowed Kara to continue without interruption. "I know Lucy talked to you a little about corporate involvement, finding a private sector company that might be better equipped than we are, as far as finding a way to get Violet home…"

"And I said no." Alex felt herself tense up, not liking where this seemed to be going.

"Right. And technically I didn't ask a _corporation_ —"

"Kara." She closed her eyes and pinched her mouth tightly closed, ready to lay into her sister for not respecting their wishes. For potentially exposing Violet even more than she already was.

"I asked Lena. For help. I figured she already knows everything anyway, and she said something when we were talking – about Violet – and I brought it up tonight and she kind of mentioned that she's already looking into it. Time travel."

"Kara, it's not that I don't trust Lena, after everything that's happened I really do. Luthor or not. But getting L-Corp involved… information is bound to be shared." Alex struggled not to raise her voice.

"No, I know, but that's just it. She said it isn't an L–Corp project. She's been doing her own research. So I asked her to maybe go talk to Winn. Like a consultant."

Alex quieted and tried to follow Kara's logic through her own sudden spike in anxiety. Lena _did_ know just about everything important now; who Violet was and where she came from. And she was certain to understand the implications of what could happen if that information got out, especially considering what her mother had done…

"Think about it." Kara continued quietly. "The biggest problem is how far advanced this tech is, right? Not only has no one else ever seen it, no one has even begun to start dealing in time travel. Well, if Lena is already researching it anyway… she may have some insight that the D.E.O. doesn't. That the military doesn't. She might have some idea what that device is made of, how it works."

Before Alex could respond, they both turned to the sound of a key in the front door. "That's them," Kara informed Alex as she looked through the door. Alex nodded, and pulled her gaze back to her sister.

"Do you think she can help?" She asked, quiet and quick. Ideally this conversation would be over by the time they got inside. Alex was desperate for some semblance of normalcy, and didn't want to taint movie night with talk of time travel and goodbyes.

Kara caught on to her sisters rushed and hushed approach, and answered the same way. "Nothing else has worked yet, I think this is the best bet." Alex reluctantly nodded, but left it at that.

"Not dead!" Violet announced with a grin as she swung the front door open.

Alex closed her eyes and shook her head as she bowed it. "Not funny."

"Definitely not funny," Maggie shot her a dirty look, in full agreeance. "Go put the ice cream in the freezer." She handed her bag off to Violet and made her way over to Alex.

"It was a little funny," Violet mumbled as she headed towards the kitchen. "I hope you guys picked a movie, because we're ready for the food that goes with it," she called over her shoulder to Alex and Kara on the couch.

"Actually, we got distracted," Kara started, ignoring the warning look on Alex's face. "Did you guys know that Lena knows I'm Supergirl?" Alex relaxed and snickered as Kara took the conversation far from time travel and back to Lena.

"No, but it makes sense that she would figure it out." Maggie shrugged, unimpressed, as she settled in next to Alex. "It shouldn't be too hard, especially considering she knows 'both' of you."

"Why does no one think I can keep a secret!?" Kara threw her hands up, exasperated. Alex rolled her eyes, entirely aware that they were lucky _more_ people didn't know Kara's secret identity. The way she frequented that damn alien bar should be a dead give away…

"Actually, I didn't even realize she didn't know…" Violet frowned, closing the freezer behind her and heading over. "I don't _think_ I said anything though…" she thought back, recalling her conversation with Lena. They had hardly talked about her aunt at all, they'd moved on to more interesting subject matter too quickly.

"You didn't," Kara assured, "Winn did. And it didn't matter anyway, because apparently she's known for a while." She crossed her arms and leaned herself back into the couch.

"Out in the open is better, right?" Alex asked as she nudged her in the ribs. Maggie grinned, loving the playful interaction between the sisters. Anything at all lighthearted or playful had been noticeably missing from their lives lately.

"I guess," Kara gave in, still relieved at how well Lena had taken being lied to for so long. She'd run the scenario in her mind a million times since her conversation with Lilian, and this was so far from anything that she'd imagined that she was still having trouble believing it.

"Well, I'm glad Lena knows. I like her," Violet tossed out, grabbing a blanket and squeezing in between Kara and Alex.

"Yeah, me too." Kara smiled at her as she shifted to make room. "No more secrets is a really good thing." She thought about it, realizing how content she was right now. The people she cared most about were all in on her double life, she no longer would have to walk around lying to the people who knew her the best.

"Agreed. Now since you guys dropped the ball, I think that means Maggie and I get to pick the movie." Violet squirmed as Alex and Kara both opened their mouths to argue.

"It definitely does." Maggie nodded, grin on her face. "I'm thinking something with gore and chainsaws. We'll pick while you two go pull out the snacks."


	55. Chapter 55

Alex paced across the medical bay, watching Violet swing her feet as she waited for one last blood draw. It had been a full week since the last time they'd been there, and even though there were no signs of any issues, Dr. Hamilton had insisted they come in for the follow up.

Alex still wasn't back at work yet, so she, Maggie and Violet had decided to make a day of it. Leisurely morning, lunch afterwards. Civilian clothes and everything. Alex could probably count the number of times she'd been to the D.E.O. in civilian clothes on one hand.

J'onn smiled to himself as he approached the medical bay and saw the three of them, looking relatively well rested and relaxed. He had been in frequent contact with Alex, and knew they were all doing well, but it was certainly nice to see it first hand.

He was impressed that Alex had actually taken the whole week off. For once, there had been no resistance, no complaining, and no attempt at a compromise that ultimately resulted in forced medical leave. A nice change from her normal reaction to 'bureaucratic sidelining'.

J'onn knocked quietly and once Alex saw him she smiled, headed over, and reciprocated the hug he offered. "Come to check on us?" she asked as he let go and she took a step back.

"Yes… and no."

Alex frowned.

"Winn needs to speak with us," J'onn began, his voice low in an effort to keep the conversation relatively private. "I wouldn't let him call you in, but since you're here... He needs us – you – for a briefing."

Alex looked back at Maggie and Violet, who were both watching intently, and once she got a nod of approval from Maggie she turned to follow J'onn. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"It's about the wristband."

* * *

The second Alex and J'onn stepped into the lab, Winn practically jumped them. He started going over their progress in his signature mile-a-minute enthusiasm, jumping between explanation and hypothetical implications and general awe that time travel was a thing that was going to work, gushing about everything; "—and Lena! Lena brought models. And simulations. And all sorts of things that we've been working on but just haven't had the time to perfect. With her research and our research, and a couple tweaks, we think we've got it working."

"What kind of tweaks." Alex pushed. They were supposed to reverse engineer something based on intricate, educated instructions. Without those they were flying blind. And blind tweaks didn't inspire confidence.

"The power source. Lena recognized something in the band, it could have been anything really, but she recognized it, and once we figured out what it was and that it wasn't fully functional and it was performing sub optimally—"

"It looked somewhat similar to a small cell nuclear power source that L-Corp has been working on." Lena interrupted Winn's ramblings, certain that she would have an easier time breaking down the situation. "We haven't had a chance to use it yet, but based on the specifications, it looked like it could be altered to fit. And it's one of the things I was considering as a method of powering whatever device I could come up with. It would appear that's exactly what it's used for in the future."

Alex kept quiet. She let Winn jump back in and start explaining; or more accurately, raving. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't skeptical.

When he finally reached a stopping point and took a breath, he grinned and looked around the room, no doubt expecting the same level of excitement from his audience. J'onn stayed quiet, watching cautiously as the conversation unfolded in front of him.

Alex, on the other hand, voiced her opinion on the matter. "You want to use an untested power source. Based on a hunch. Guys. I don't know how I feel about this…"

"It works," Winn insisted.

"We thought it would work last time too, but then..." she paused, and the memory fell over the three of them; even Lena was distantly aware of what had gone wrong.

"What if she just stays here," Alex suggested, "until we can find a way to test it? To prove it'll work?" Deep down she knew this was unrealistic, and that she was just asking to prolong the inevitable. After all, _she_ was the one that had been pushing for a solution. For a way to get Violet home.

Winn stopped and looked between Alex and Lena. He was excited about their breakthrough, and immensely proud that he and Lena had actually _made_ one… but Alex's hesitation reminded him that what they were working on had much bigger implications. With that realization, he instantly changed his approach from gushing to careful reassurance. "All our recent simulations have been successful. Once we applied the specs from Lena's power cell and increased the power… I can walk you through it if you want me to, but I can tell you that I have about as much confidence in this method as I could possibly have. Considering."

Alex felt sick; "See? The 'considering'. That's the part I don't like. There's still a million things that could go wrong, that you guys wont have been able to foresee." She appreciated Winn taking a step back and trying to calm her fears. There just wasn't nearly enough information out there to actually make her believe that absolutely everything was accounted for. J'onn stepped in, expecting that his calming influence would be what Alex needed to get on board.

No such luck.

"What if it doesn't work." Alex turned and stared him down before he could get a word in, aware that he was preparing to try and placate her. "Last time we tried sending her back it knocked her out. What if this time it kills her?" She whipped around and landed back on Winn, suddenly very anxious about what she was hearing herself say. "You're talking about increasing the power and magnitude of whatever it is that actually rips her from our time and sends her off to another. Without actually understanding what exactly that entails."

"Actually," Lena spoke up again, quietly stepping forward. "We have a fairly good idea what happens. The mechanics of the device. I doubt we could recreate it from scratch, and it's far from straight forward, but between the instructions off the HologrAlex—"

Alex immediately shot Winn a dirty look. "Seriously. Still with that."

Lena looked between them, now flustered and even more self-conscious. "I'm sorry… is that… is that not what it's called?" she asked Alex.

Winn leaned in from behind her, still far enough away that he was definitively out of Alex's reach. "That is definitely what it's called. Continue," he told her quietly, careful to hold eye contact with Alex.

"Right." Lena wasn't convinced, but continued. "Between the instructions off the… hologram…" she paused to assess Alex's reaction. She got a subtle nod and a grimace from Winn, so she assumed she was on the right track. "With the instructions and the actual disassembly and reassembly of the device, we think we have a basic grasp of its functionality. And as Winn said, we've run extensive simulations on it, after each and every tweak and reconfiguration. What we've come up with has worked, digitally, every single time. Regardless of the potential variables we've thrown at it."

Alex wasn't convinced. Logically she understood the limitations, that they would probably never be able to be entirely sure if it would work. But emotionally? They were talking about Violet. And she was terrified this would end badly. "I should talk to Maggie."

J'onn cleared his throat. "You're welcome to, and if we really need to do more to improve its chances of success, we will. But Alex, you know as well as I do, if we have a way to get her back, we need to take it. We can't continue to risk it." He didn't want to come off like he was ignoring her concerns… but Alex was emotionally compromised when it came to Violet. Which was to be expected, but still made this mission tricky.

Alex simmered. "Director–" the formality of the word cut like a knife, "–all due respect _sir_ , but she's my kid. If I determine it's not safe… then we're not doing it."

"What's not safe?"

Alex closed her eyes as she heard Violet's voice. Of course she would walk in to this part of the conversation. "Nothing. We're just talking about the wristband. Weren't you supposed to stay with Maggie?"

Violet 's eyes widened and she looked to Winn, ignoring Alex's question. "Did you fix it?"

Winn watched Alex as he opened his mouth to respond. "Well—"

"They don't know." Alex silenced him with a look and interrupted before he could finish. She wanted final say on this. And if Violet knew they thought it was functional… Alex doubted she would 'exercise caution and responsibility', which was exactly what she was telling herself she was doing on Violet's behalf.

"Violet," Maggie suddenly appeared in the doorway. "How did I know you'd be in here," she all but scolded. Violet had left her waiting on the doctor so she could 'run and check on something real quick'. After about two minutes Maggie realized what that probably was.

"Maggie, they fixed the wristband – they _think_ they fixed it," Violet corrected herself as she saw Alex start to protest.

Maggie looked around the room, gaze landing on a very anxious and uncomfortable Alex. "What does that mean," she asked her.

Alex sighed, gave in, and recapped; the power cell, the simulations, the hypothetical correction of – essentially – a dead battery, and the fact that word 'hypothetical' was a huge factor.

Violet listened carefully, and then responded almost immediately. "If they think it's fixed, we need to at least try it."

"Vi. Even after we try it, we might not know if it worked. Unless you pop in and out like last time," Alex tried to gloss over the fear associated with that possibility, "we'll have no idea where or when you ended up. Even if it successfully pulls you from this time… after that anything could happen."

Violet watched Alex blink back tears and took some time to think before answering.

As Maggie moved to Alex and silently took her hand, Violet turned to Winn. "Is there anything we can do that will change that? Either test it first or figure out how to track it after it's been used?"

Winn squirmed. "Not… not really. Its destination is already hardcoded, so as soon as we try to use it… we lose the device to the future. Simulations are the best we can do."

"Then it doesn't matter," Violet softened her tone and turned to Alex. "If this is my best shot, then this is what we try. We can't risk it. I have to go back. I can't keep changing things, it could destroy something else. I know this is risky. But I'm willing to take that risk."

Once again, logic told Alex that Violet was right.

But that didn't mean she felt any better about it.


	56. Chapter 56

The car ride home was silent. Everyone was far too preoccupied with what was running through their minds to hold any sort of conversation. Violet's bloodwork had come back clear, but the good news was overshadowed by the knowledge that they were about to 'lose' Violet anyway.

Alex could barely look at her; she knew the second she did she would lose it. And she couldn't lose it. Not here, not now. She tried to ignore how empty her life was about to feel, because the second she allowed herself that single thought, it was over. So, she forced it down and made herself go over D.E.O. training strategy in her head.

Maggie was only doing a little better. At least somewhat able to pretend that nothing was happening. That everything wasn't about to change. That she was just in the car, driving with Alex and Violet. Her girlfriend and their kid. Their daughter. That she was about to have to say goodbye to. Shit. Maggie quickly brushed away the tear that fell on her cheek and blinked back its followers.

Violet just stared out the window, trying not to devolve into guessing games about what she might find when she got back. Trying to focus on the buildings, the people, the cars and bikes and dogs and children and trees and parks and everything that had been missing from her world the last time she saw it. Just in case.

For three women who were mere feet apart, they were worlds away from each other.

* * *

When they got home Alex and Violet immediately split off and took refuge behind closed doors. Maggie took some time to herself as she forced herself to 'care' about cleaning up the kitchen. Which really just meant putting a plate in the dishwasher and pressing start. There had been enough anxiety about the final blood draw this morning that restless cleaning had already taken care of the rest.

Once she'd had a chance to gather her thoughts, she softly knocked on the bedroom door and entered to find Alex, seated on the foot of the bed and quietly crying. Maggie crossed into the room and sat next to her, careful not to come on too strong.

After a minute or so of silence, of just _being_ together, Alex heard Maggie murmur. "Do you remember what I said when you first told me about Violet? About who she really was?"

Alex furrowed her brow and frowned as she allowed her tears to fall. "Something along the lines of 'do I actually believe her'?" _Oh, how far we've come,_ she thought as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

Maggie shook her head. "No, after that. I said we have to make this ok for her." Alex looked over to Maggie, suddenly knowing exactly where she was going. "Same here Danvers. This is going to be a huge adjustment for her, no matter what she goes back to. We have to make that ok for her. She cannot feel badly about leaving us. We can't let her."

Alex felt a wave of guilt that she'd been so focused on her own fear and heartbreak that she hadn't been able to get there first. Hadn't let herself realize that even if everything worked perfectly, this would be another life altering change for Violet; another complete unknown that she was about to be launched into. She nodded, wrapped an arm around the woman that somehow always knew what to say, and felt Maggie fall into her embrace.

She needed to get a grip, and then they needed to be there for Violet.

* * *

Violet sat in her room, alone, in the middle of her bed.

She had started silently sobbing the second she had felt the door latch closed behind her, and the last thing she wanted was for Alex and Maggie to hear her. They were already so upset with her, presumably that she wanted to leave without knowing it would work. Violet knew how Alex (and Maggie) felt about her… 'self-sacrificing tendencies'.

But she had to. Even if they hated her for it, she had to. She couldn't risk it any longer. The sooner she was gone from this time, the safer everyone else's futures would be. And staying any longer, just to try and see if it was even possible to alleviate the risk to her own life, was just selfish.

Now that the decision was made, now that she knew she was headed back, the 'what if's' that were associated with her upcoming trip were overwhelming. Forget hard to ignore, she couldn't even successfully quiet them into a dull roar:

What if she was sent back to a world that was unchanged.

What if the Dominators still took over.

What if her mom was still gone.

Her aunt.

Her world.

Maggie. Her _mama_.

What if Cadmus was still there, still quietly feeding off fear and using it to wield power.

What if her being back here for so long had fixed one thing, only to leave room for another unspeakable evil to take its place.

Or cause it entirely.

What if all she did was make everything worse.

What if she had to face a world that was suffering from something that she had set into motion.

Violet felt her heart sink and her tears fall faster as her mind shifted from big picture impact to personal impact. It felt selfish, yet entirely impossible for her to ignore.

What if her being here, changing things, somehow led to her mother's never finding her.

What if she got back and they were a family, just not hers.

What if the world was changed, but she was too.

Hell, what if the wristband didn't work at all and she just dissolved into nothingness.

Or exploded.

Violet shuddered. Every fear she had, every apprehension, was sitting there, right at the surface. She could feel it and hear it and though logically she knew that there was no point, no benefit in allowing it to worm its way through her mind… she felt powerless to stop it. She was completely incapable of just turning it off.

She heard a knock on the door and her hands flew to her face, desperately trying to wipe away the evidence of her breakdown. "Yeah. Come in," she choked out.

Her door slowly opened and Violet held her breath as Alex and Maggie came in. Without a word, they each climbed onto her bed, one on either side, sandwiching her between them. Each of them desperately trying to make the others think they weren't terrified and heartbroken over what was coming.

Violet glanced back and forth between their faces, each resting on one of her shoulders. Their eyes were red and puffy, and she could see track marks on Alex's face where tears had been. "Are you guys… ok?" she asked, hesitant.

Alex shook her head, but did her best to compose herself before answering. "Not really. Just… a little miserable. Or a lot miserable. We knew this was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier. Knowing we're about to have to say goodbye."

"So… you're not mad?" Violet verified, finally letting herself start to calm down. This was a far cry from the silent treatment she thought she'd been getting, and not at all what she was expecting when she heard them knock.

Maggie immediately stopped caressing Violet's arm, and Alex pulled back, shifting to get a good look at Violet's face. "What? Of course we're not mad. Why would we be mad?"

Violet shrugged and averted her eyes, suddenly feeling silly for even suggesting it. "I dunno, ever since I said I had to go back… even if it wasn't exactly safe… you guys just haven't really… said anything. To me. And the last time that happened was right before you went off on me about being reckless… so…"

Alex felt terrible; while they – while _she_ – was moping, Violet had been in here, thinking they were upset with her. That was a hell of a send-off. "I'm not mad at all. Just worried. And really, really sad. We're going to miss you, more than you could possibly know," Alex heard her voice falter and had to stop.

Maggie nodded in agreement. "It's going to be a very different place without you," she stated without looking up. "I think we're probably going to spend the next couple of years just waiting for you to get here."

 _We_. _Years._ Violet felt her heart flutter. She knew they were supposed to end up together, but hearing their intention to do just that was still a relief. When they had first asked her to stay with them she had been more than a little worried that her presence would put a strain on their relationship, cause some discourse that hadn't been there before.

But instead it sounded like her being there just brought them that much closer.

Alex leaned back in, wrapped Violet in her arms, and rested her cheek on the top of her head. "What do you need from us tonight," she whispered. "We can do a family night, a going away party, or we can leave you alone entirely. Whatever you need, we'll make it happen." _Please don't say leave you alone, please_ , Alex prayed silently. She wasn't sure what she would do if she couldn't spend Violet's last night there by her side.

Violet felt her eyes well up with tears and looked up to stop them from falling; Alex and Maggie were doing a much better job at masking their feelings than she was. "I think maybe a going away party sounds nice. Nothing fancy, but I want to see everyone that might… not… you know. One more time, just in case." _Just in case there's no one left when I get there._

Alex nodded, knowing that if she tried to verbalize anything she wouldn't be able to stop herself from falling apart. And she couldn't do that to Violet. She couldn't make this about them. Maggie was dead on; they had to make this ok for her.


	57. Chapter 57

Alex stood in front of the floor length mirror in the bedroom, just staring at herself. She was supposed to be getting ready. There were a decent number of people that would be showing up within the hour, ready to say goodbye to Violet. Something that Alex was still trying to avoid thinking about.

This was very clearly a going away party. There was no getting around that. Hell, Kara even got choked up when Alex had called and told her the plan for the evening. After that Alex had determined that she couldn't deal with invites and interactions, made something up about how she had to go get ready, and Maggie sort of took over.

Maybe if she never put her shirt on then no one would knock on the door and she would never have to face the fact that this was Violet's send-off.

Fuck, the idea of saying goodbye had been so much easier when she hardly knew the kid.

Alex closed her eyes and thought back to those first couple days with Violet. Before they got to know her. Before they fell in love with her. When it was awkward and uncomfortable and, as much as Alex hated to admit it, there was the smallest sliver of relief that Violet would be sent back so soon.

But now. Months later. It was a completely different story. They had gotten used to each other, and they had fallen into something resembling normalcy. Alex could barely picture what her and Maggie's lives were about to look like without Violet.

Alex opened her eyes as she felt Maggie slide in behind her and wrap her arms around her bare stomach.

"Whatcha lookin' at," she quietly asked as she leaned into Alex. They were all pretty much living on the cusp of tears at this point, so the careful, gentle nudge felt like the safest option.

"Nothing," Alex shook off her heavy-weight trip down memory lane and sighed. "Just stalling I guess."

Maggie nodded, complete understanding in an instant; it had taken everything she had not to sit down and bury herself in something menial and just let the world happen around her. She started to pull back, fingertips lingering on wounded flesh from Alex's time in Lilian's custody. Alex unconsciously tensed up and glanced down, eyes locking on the offending touch.

"Shit, sorry," Maggie moved to pull her hand away. Alex hadn't mentioned any pain in days – not that she would – but Maggie hadn't realized it was still bothering her. Alex grabbed Maggie's hand and held on, but continued to stare at the raw, angry wound on her side.

"It's ok, it doesn't hurt. It's just a little tender I guess." Alex found she couldn't tear her eyes away, suddenly overcome with a single thought. "Do you think it'll scar?" she asked, so quiet that Maggie almost had to lean in to catch it.

"Maybe," she shrugged, arms back around Alex's waist. "But it's fine. Chicks dig scars," she murmured into Alex's shoulder and let her lips linger, hoping the attempted humor would lightened the mood a little bit.

Alex rolled her eyes and gave into half a smile, just for a second. "That's not what I… I meant something else," she clarified as she returned to her thoughts, smile disappearing as she did. She caught a glimpse of the inquisitive look over her shoulder and suddenly felt self-conscious. "I don't exactly know how to explain it…"

"Talk me through it," Maggie quietly pushed her to talk. Talking was good. The more Alex talked to her the less she was shutting down. And, knowing that was more than likely still coming, Maggie wanted to try and hold it off for as long as possible.

Alex took some time, trying to figure out how to put what she was focusing on into words. Words that made sense. "It's… real. It's a physical reminder of what Lilian did. To me _and_ to Violet. It's tangible proof of what happened. That Violet was here." Alex cleared her throat as tears stung her eyes, careful not to give into them. "Is it weird that I hope it does? Scar I mean? So I can keep that reminder?"

She felt Maggie shake her head behind her. "Danvers, our entire lives are weird right now. But somehow… that isn't."

Alex lost the fight against her tears and let one fall before closing her eyes and giving in to Maggie's embrace. She felt like she was drowning in heartbreak and was certain she would be lost entirely if it weren't for Maggie.

Maggie.

It always came back to Maggie.

All at once she knew what she wanted, more than anything. The one thing that might save them both from the suffocating weight of the loss that was coming.

"We should get married," she announced before she could even think to stop it.

"What?" Maggie froze. She'd heard that right… right?

"After all this. Once we're back to whatever our version of normal is… we should get married." In the mirror, Alex saw a grin break through the stunned look on Maggie's face, and the magnitude of her own words finally hit her. "Wait, shit. I should have asked. I was supposed to ask. Get down on one knee and stuff." _Alex Danvers, you idiot. You're supposed to think shit through_ , she berated herself.

"I don't need any of that stuff—" Maggie started to object, unable to stop grinning.

"Don't care," Alex shook her head. "You deserve it. So for now, just forget I said anything—"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen—"

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to work that much harder to make it somewhat surprising. Once things settle down and we have some time to breathe, I'm going to do it right." Alex finally turned to face Maggie. "I love you Maggie Sawyer. And you're going to get an amazing proposal and then we're going to have an amazing wedding and an amazing life together."

"Deal," Maggie agreed as she pulled Alex's face down to hers and they lost themselves in each other.

None of this changed the fact that Violet was still leaving, and that it was still going to be absolutely devastating.

But this part?

This part felt right.

This part felt perfect.

* * *

 **Hey guys, first things first: the reviews you guys leave seriously make my life. Like, to the point where I don't even feel like apologizing for all the times I see the word 'heartbreaking' anymore. I just let out an evil little cackle and grin.**

 **Second, and probably more importantly: I'm so sorry for the delay and the super short chapter. Hopefully the angst and the fluff will help make up for it. Between work and travel and classes and sooo much homework something had to give a little, and unfortunately this was it.**

 **Which may continue…**

 **I'll be honest, I'm struggling a little bit here – we're getting down to the last few chapters and I really want to do it justice. Tie up loose ends and whatnot. Also, I'm realizing that I really don't want to say goodbye to Violet either (I went and got attached, dammit). I'm strongly considering trying to figure out a way to do a sequel.**

 **Questions/Comments/Concerns:**

\- **Looking at ~60 chapters in total. From there, we'll see what (if anything) happens as a follow up.**

\- **As for SuperCorp… I've admittedly sort of avoided defining it. Not that I don't have my own personal opinions about what their relationship is, I just didn't want to worry about pulling focus from the main plot, especially this close to a conclusion. So, we're going with 'eye of the beholder' and whatnot; if you're reading this and thinking that Kara and Lena are a thing, then they absolutely are. And if you're in the 'just friends' camp, that's cool too.**

\- **Any Earpers out there? Threw one in there for you this week ;) Just felt necessary.**


	58. Chapter 58

"We should get married," Alex's voice floated out through the crack in the door.

"What?"

And oh my god, the smile on Violet's face.

It took everything she had not to bust in right then and there. She had been having a little trouble alone with her thoughts and decided to weasel her way into their room for some company (she was feeling a little clingy, so sue her). The door was barely cracked open, but luckily she had paused before pushing it open the rest of the way.

From there, after carefully listening for Maggie's response, Violet immediately covered her grin with both hands and slowly backed away.

It didn't even matter that she wouldn't be there for it.

Because no matter what happened to her tomorrow, having witnessed actual proof that they were so fully committed to a future together… that meant that their lives would go forward as expected.

* * *

Alex eventually finished getting ready and she and Maggie agreed to keep their non-proposal to themselves for the time being. There was no way they were going to steal the spotlight tonight.

They emerged from the bedroom to find Violet waiting in the kitchen, finishing up the little bit of cleaning that hadn't been taken care of out of anxious tiding up throughout the day. She prepared herself to offer up a sad smile and a hug if Violet needed reassurance, but instead found herself face to face with… happiness? Violet was practically beaming.

After a few seconds Violet bit her lip and mentally told herself to chill out; if they weren't going to say anything then neither was she. But it was clear to Alex and Maggie that she was bright and cheerful and in a significantly better mood. Maybe she's actually excited to go back, Alex thought as her heart sank. She forced a smile and tried to consider that a good thing.

A knock on the window (Kara of course) pulled their attention away from each other as Maggie rolled her eyes and made her way over to let Kara in. Obviously locking the damn window wasn't enough of a deterrent and, in reality, it would probably never happen again. No point.

"Hey! Hope you're hungry, because I brought enough food for like… four of me." Kara held up a pair of takeout bags and nodded behind her to the literal pile of bags and boxes waiting on the balcony.

Maggie peered around her, stunned. "Jesus Kara," she started, "when we asked you to pick up something for dinner—"

She suddenly stopped herself.

Pizza, pasta, tacos, burgers… Indian, Chinese, Japanese… she counted food from about eight different places. Eight places that had all been thoroughly enjoyed by Violet over the past few months. Eight places that covered a wide range of cultures and ethnicities and comfort and that were very much not available to Violet before she had gotten sent back.

On Violet's last night of stability Kara had brought her a little bit of everything. A little bit of everything that might not be there – wherever therewas – when Violet got back tomorrow.

Which was a stupid thing for Maggie to get choked up about.

But here she was.

"This looks perfect," she softened and smiled at Kara, who was clearly realizing that Maggie had caught on, "I'll help you get it all in here." Kara met her gaze and smiled back, doing her best to (1) not fall apart, and (2) convey how much she felt for Maggie and Alex and Violet and what was happening. Her standard cherry attitude was little more than a façade at the moment. She was dreading this evening as much as the rest of them, but had resolved to make it as positive as possible. She could only imagine what 'one more night' with her parents could have been like, and the more of that she could translate into Violet's goodbye dinner, the better.

"This is awesome," Violet watched Kara enter with wide eyes.

"Yeah? Figured I didn't know what you were in the mood for…" Kara dropped the first set of bags on the counter and stepped over to wrap Violet in a hug. As Violet returned the embrace, Kara closed her eyes and held on, willing herself to remember every second of the night, starting with the hug she hoped would last forever.

No such luck.

A knock on the door and she felt Violet automatically tense up. Kara opened her eyes and glanced through the door. "It's just J'onn," she murmured into Violet's ear, immediately feeling her relax as she pulled away to look in that direction.

Alex tore herself from the scene in front of her, her sister and her daughter in their bittersweet moment, and headed to the door as Maggie let J'onn in and welcomed him warmly, appreciative of how supportive he had been over the last few weeks. She also took the bottle of wine he brought before Alex could grab it from him (murmuring something along the lines of 'you'll thank me later') and he stepped inside, immediately greeted with a bear hug from Violet. He couldn't help but notice that Violet seemed to be doing relatively well. And that she seemed to be the only one.

Winn arrived shortly after, not entirely sure how to shake the awkwardness of the evening. Once James got there Winn finally started to lighten up, and together they brought some much-needed levity to the group. They even got some genuine laughter out of Kara as they traded some of their more amusing alien fighting mishaps.

Not long after the boys showed up, another knock signaled Lena's arrival, and after taking a few minutes with Kara to find her footing around those she didn't know very well, she peeled off and made her way over to Winn and Alex to join in on whatever highly scientific, and likely theoretical, discussion they were having.

Lucy knocked next and very professionally said hello to everyone before starting to catch up with James. Kara was pleased to see that there was no tension between them, though throughout the evening she would note Alex keeping a wary eye on her any time she and Violet found themselves chatting.

Conversations came and went. The people facilitating them routinely shuffled around and everyone had a chance to chat with everyone else. Somehow it all became very light, very unfettered. Not what anyone would have expected given the context of the evening. Kara stuck by Lena for a while, but when she and Winn pulled out graphing paper and started working on some design they had talked about the other day, she rolled her eyes, grinned to Alex, and settled onto the couch to just… watch.

Violet soon noticed Kara off by herself, content but still alone, and slipped away from Lucy and J'onn – who casually and protectively had an arm over her shoulder while they were talking. It was entirely possible that he was also on the 'protective/overbearing' bandwagon that Violet was still somehow completely oblivious to.

She headed over to the couch and plopped herself down next to Kara, leaning into her as they watched Alex and Maggie lightheartedly joke around with James. Likely something Guardian related.

Kara overheard something Alex said and snickered to herself. Violet looked up to see what she was responding to and suddenly found herself unable to hold it in any longer.

"They're going to get married," Violet practically blurted out. Thankfully she had at least had enough self-control to blurt quietly.

"I know," Kara nodded as she continued to watch Alex and Maggie entertain James across the room. "I kind of can't wait. That, and then you… lots of good things coming up."

Violet shook her head and stifled a grin, knowing full well that if Kara had truly understood what she was trying to say her response would have been vastly different. "No, I mean… there was sort of a proposal… like, today."

"What!?" Kara sat bolt upright, slack jawed and stunned. Somehow the exclamation came out almost silently. Like in her excitement she had gone almost too high-pitched to be audible.

"SHHHHH!" Violet noticed Maggie glance ever-so-slightly in their direction and jabbed an elbow into Kara's side before she could finish jumping up. "You cannot say anything!" Violet's orders came out in a harsh whisper through clenched teeth. "They don't even know that I know!" All at once her intensity fell away and she leaned back with a grin. "I just couldn't keep it to myself."

"Oh my god there's going to be a wedding," Kara breathed through the dopey grin on her face. Obviously, there was going to be a wedding. That's how these things worked. Yet it felt like she was only just now coming to that realization. The instant that realization passed she was hit with another, and she felt herself deflate; "And you're going to miss it," she lamented as she plummeted back to the present. Violet not being there was the whole point of the damn evening in the first place. The sudden shift from elation to heartache left a bitter taste in her mouth and the sting of tears in her eyes.

Violet looked down and examined her fingers. "Yeah, but… I'm not supposed to be there. So… I can't be upset about that one…" She slowly raised her eyes to Kara, hopeful that would be enough to convince her. Either of them, really.

Strongest kid in the world, Kara thought as she squared her shoulders and nodded. If Violet wasn't going to feel sorry for herself in the face of everything that was coming, then the least Kara could do was be supportive and not saddle her with undue pity.

"You know, I was thinking that… now that I know that me being here hasn't put their relationship in jeopardy… I wonder if…" Violet slowed to a stop as she held her breath and stared intensely at Kara as she waited for her to catch on.

She didn't disappoint.

Kara's eyes widened and her gaze whipped from Violet's face to where Alex and Maggie were standing. "You're going to tell her, aren't you?" she whispered before tearing her eyes back to Violet.

Violet didn't answer right away, weighing her own thoughts before trying to verbalize them. "It can't hurt now, right? I mean… I told Alex who I was the day I arrived."

"I would have one hundred percent told her right away," Kara stated and shrugged. No point in lying; she had no doubt that if she were in Violet's place, there was no way she would have been able to keep that secret to herself without some serious hand-holding. And maybe a strait jacket.

Violet smiled and rolled her eyes. God she'd missed her aunt.

As Kara got up to Lena beckoning her over for something, Violet resolved to think it over before deciding. She hated the idea of leaving without being able to tell Maggie what she meant to her, but she was so close to leaving things in a good place. If there was any chance this one piece of information could throw that off...

"You doing ok?" Alex came up to Violet and quietly asked. She had no idea what kind of conversation she and Kara had been having, but now that Violet was alone the look on her face had shifted to some kind of intense concentration.

Violet dropped the mental scrutiny, looked up, smiled, and nodded. "Yeah. Taking it all in. Thanks for having everyone over. I'm sure you would rather have had it be just us tonight."

Alex shook her head as she dropped down next to Violet and pulled her into a hug. "I wanted whatever you wanted," she insisted as she snuck a kiss onto Violet's cheek.

"Well then this is perfect." Violet murmured, leaning into the hug and trying to ignore the pain that was welling up in her chest.


	59. Chapter 59

It was quite late by the time the apartment door closed for the last time, signaling the last goodbye from the last guest. Kara had gotten choked up as _she_ started to say goodbye, and Violet had gotten equally choked up when she asked her to stay. Which obviously Kara readily agreed to.

As Maggie started a fire, Alex absentmindedly cleaned up the kitchen and did her best not to focus on anything specifically heartbreaking. Violet sat alone in the middle of the couch, silent and brooding as she tried to decide if she could go back on the promise she'd made to protect her future. Kara curled up in the recliner nearby, watching Violet's wheels turn, knowing what she was working through.

"Tired?" Alex asked Violet as she placed a hand on the top of her head and rounded the couch to join her. It had been a long day. Emotions were high and she could only imagine how drained Violet must be.

But Violet shook her head as Alex wedged herself in next to her. "Just thinking," she responded, staring into the flames as Maggie plopped down on her other side.

"The fire should last a while… you wanna pick out a movie or something?" Maggie offered hesitantly. Hopefully Violet didn't just want to go to bed, she was hoping they could enjoy her just a little bit longer. Just the few of them.

"Yeah," Violet nodded, still staring off into the flames, "but first there's this one thing…"

Kara made some odd inhuman noise and Alex looked her way. Violet finally pulled her gaze from the fire and shot her a warning glare. Kara clamped her mouth shut and tried to stifle her grin.

"Ok… what one thing?" Maggie asked, ready to immediately give in to whatever Violet was going to ask for.

Violet could feel her heart pounding. She was only mostly convinced that telling them was safe. Like 90% convinced. Which meant there was that little nagging voice in her head that she had to ignore if she wanted to get through this conversation.

Normally she would defer to the nagging voice, but ultimately she had decided that if she got back to her time and Maggie wasn't there… she would regret not telling her. She would regret saying goodbye to Maggie without having her fully understand who she was to her. She would regret leaving and feeling like the last thing she did was lie.

Violet took a breath. "Remember when I first got here. Like, _first_ got here."

"Yeah, of course," Alex nodded.

"And I told you right away who I was – or more who _you_ were. To me." Violet paused. "I know you guys have been wondering, even though you never asked. I know how hard that was, and I appreciate you guys not pushing or asking or trying to guess if—" _stop rambling_ , Violet scolded herself.

"Vi," Maggie interrupted, suddenly having a pretty good idea where they were headed, "you don't have to do this. We know it's safer for you to keep some of this stuff to yourself."

Violet shook her head. "Not this. Not anymore. You need to know that you're my mom. You deserve to know." Violet stopped there, waiting for their reactions.

Maggie stared.

Alex felt her breath catch in her throat.

Kara did her best to hold in a squeal as her eyes darted between Alex and Maggie's faces. She even almost succeeded.

"I am?" Maggie whispered, a grin appearing on her face. Alex turned to look at her, to watch as the joy and excitement and love radiated off of her. Violet nodded, and before she could follow it up with anything else, Alex and Maggie both barreled into her and latched on, nearly crushing her between them. "Oh, thank god!" Maggie gasped.

After plenty of grinning and laughter and tears, everyone sat back, dopey grins on their faces and happiness in their hearts. Maggie held Violets hand – her _daughter's_ hand – in hers. "Vi, I can't tell you how happy I am that you told us. And that you felt like you could… but you were so concerned about telling us too much, about sharing something that might alter our future…"

"Oh, yeah I'm not worried about that anymore," Violet brushed off Maggie's inquiry. "After this afternoon, I think it's pretty clear that you guys are exactly on track, even with me here."

"Uh… what?" Maggie gulped, not sure if that meant what she thought it meant. Maybe she was just reading into things?

"I may have kind of overheard you guys… before everyone got here…" Violet pursed her lips and raised her brows, acting innocent.

"And you heard what exactly," Alex pushed, not ready to give it all up just yet.

"Oh, come on, you can stop pretending," Kara couldn't hold it in any longer, she was so excited for her sister – for her _sisters_ – and trying to keep quiet was killing her.

"Wait, _you_ know? How do you know?" Maggie whipped around and squinted at Kara.

"My bad," Violet sheepishly raised her hand in the air. "After I heard her ask you, and you basically say yes" – Maggie redirected her grin towards Alex – "I was just so excited—"

"Hang on, that's why you were in such a good mood earlier?" Alex asked her. She'd be lying if she said it hadn't pained her to think that maybe Violet was just ready to go.

"Well, yeah." _What the hell else do I have to be excited about_? Violet thought to herself. "But then you didn't say anything so I couldn't say anything either…"

"We didn't want to make the night about us. And it wasn't exactly a stellar proposal; it deserves a re-do." Alex explained, catching Maggie's eye.

"I dunno, it sounded really sweet to me," Violet shrugged and Alex reached out and put a hand on her face, absolutely in love with how kind and supportive her kid was. "And it got me thinking… if you guys are already going to get married then me telling you this isn't going to change that. So, I told Kara and then I asked if she thought it would be safe to tell you—"

"Hang on, you knew about this too!? That I'm her mom?" Maggie turned back to Kara, whose eyes widened as she got ready to defend herself.

"I haven't known the _whole_ time, if that helps," she offered meekly after shooting Violet a slightly dirty look.

"How long," Alex sighed.

Kara cleared her throat as Violet mouthed ' _I'm sorry_ ' in her direction. "Ok, so you remember when we rescued you guys from Lilian? And Violet took off? And then when you caught up with us you were sooooo happy when I told you that Violet had started to open up a little?" Kara rushed, clearly suggesting that Alex had basically already given her her blessing.

Alex narrowed her eyes, but Kara was right… she did remember how relieved she'd been that Violet had finally started to talk about whatever was weighing on her mind. Even if she wasn't the one Violet had talked to.

"I've known since then." Kara swallowed, "and I totally would have told you right away—"

"But I was still nervous," Violet interrupted, "so she left it up to me. To decide if and when I felt like I could risk it."

Maggie was still sitting there stunned, taking it all in. "Well, I for one am thrilled that you chose to tell us. No matter how long it took." Alex nodded in agreement, smiling from ear to ear.

"Me too," Violet smiled back at her. "Once I felt like it wouldn't be jeopardizing your relationship, I knew I couldn't leave without telling you." Violet watched Maggie's grin grow even wider as the crinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened. Maggie pulled her back into a bear hug and Violet felt her arms tighten around her.

"Kid, I love you more than I ever thought I could. I am so honored that I get to be your mom," Maggie whispered into Violet's ear.

"Mama, actually," Violet corrected.

Maggie pulled back; _do not cry, do not cry, do not cry,_ she repeated as she felt herself get choked up, quickly glancing over at Alex beaming back at her. "Mama. I like it."

* * *

Kara and Violet both passed out fairly early into the movie that no one was watching. Violet fell asleep cozy and warm in her mothers' arms. Kara let herself drift off as she watched the three of them, snuggled up together with absolute adoration on Alex and Maggie's faces.

Alex knew she would be up all night, just trying to enjoy the time they had left with Violet. For now, she was more than content to alternate between watching Violet sleep, and watching Maggie watch Violet sleep.

After a while, Alex reached over and laid her hand on Maggie's shoulder in an effort to silently get her attention. Luckily, she already had her arm around Violet so it wasn't much of a reach, and Violet stayed asleep, nestled comfortably between them.

"You doing ok?" Alex quietly asked as Maggie shifted and met her eyes over Violet's head.

"Better than ok," Maggie whispered back. Even after Violet had fallen asleep she hadn't let go of her hand, and Maggie found herself absentmindedly caressing it with her thumb. She glanced at Violet's soft, peaceful, face and then back to Alex. "I'm beyond thrilled. And more than a little relieved."

"What happened to 'it didn't matter' and 'it wouldn't change anything'?" Alex chided with an impish grin on her face.

Maggie smiled as she lowered her eyes. Alex was right, she'd been very clear in the past that she didn't need to know. But knowing still somehow changed everything. "It's weird, actually. We never really talked about it… never really had a reason to… but... before Violet, I never actually... pictured myself as a mom."

"...What?" Alex stopped. Her finger, which had been softly playing with the collar of Maggie's shirt, froze in midair.

"Yeah," Maggie whispered, barely audible. She couldn't bring herself to look at Alex, she knew how disappointed she would be. So, she kept her eyes trained on Violet's hand in hers.

"Wait, you didn't want kids?" Alex asked, taken aback. _How had she not known this_?

"No, I don't know, I just…" Maggie paused, looked up, and sighed, trying to find the words. "You know how when you're growing up, you imagine how your life is going to be? You picture the job you'll have and the person you'll marry and the house you'll build? My house just... never had kids in it. I don't know, I don't remember ever deciding that I _didn't_ want kids, I just never saw myself with them."

Alex stayed quiet. This was probably a conversation they would have had a long time ago, before anyone proposed to anyone else. That is, if anything in the past few months had been straightforward or in the right order.

"But now?" Now Maggie looked at her. Could bring herself to look at her. "God, can you imagine going through life and not having her there?"

"Not even a little," Alex responded immediately. She wasn't trying to sound indignant, hell she'd had her own reservations when Violet had first shown up. She couldn't hold this against Maggie.

"Me neither. But I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't worrying; what if I'd never met her? Never realized how much I wanted to be a mom? And to be a mom to _her_? I don't know. If us having kids was a deal breaker for you... I honestly didn't know how I would have handled that before her."

"Mags," Alex whispered. "I had no idea you were so… conflicted. Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

Maggie frowned. "Because I wasn't conflicted. Not anymore anyway. I was just worried about how our… other future had gone. The future with the Dominators and without Violet coming back. And none of that matters, because I know what I want _now_."

"So, the relief…"

"I'm relieved that this other version of me got it right. That even without meeting Violet ahead of time, I got it together and we got to have a family. We got to have her." She felt Alex squeeze her shoulder and allowed a sad smile to cross her face. Thinking about their family both warmed her heart and broke it at the same time. She knew how much she loved Violet. How much Alex loved Violet.

And she also knew that meant tomorrow was going to devastate them.

* * *

 **Yeah, I just couldn't get behind the line from Maggie in 3x02 last week about how she "never saw herself as a mom." I realize they're probably starting to set us up for the angst and the drama and the conflict that probably eventually leads to 'The Great Parting of The Ways'… but obviously in this version of events that doesn't happen, so I fixed it.**


	60. Chapter 60

The morning was quiet.

Precise.

Painfully "normal".

Everyone was going through the motions, acutely aware that they were just cycling through Violet's 'lasts'.

 _Their last breakfast together. Their last morning._

When it was time to head out, Violet waved the others ahead and lingered for a moment before following them downstairs to the car.

 _Her last time at the home she'd finally grown to feel safe in._

Violet swallowed hard as she turned her back on the apartment. She tried to tell herself that this wasn't a death sentence. Tried to tell herself that even if it was… it didn't matter. She couldn't be that selfish.

But god she wanted to live. To see what life would look like on the other side.

The door latched behind her and Violet held her breath as she ran her hand across the numbers on the door before turning around and forcing herself not to look back.

 _Her last time waiting for that god forsaken elevator._

She rode down in silence, recalling everything that Cadmus had done to her. To Alex. All starting in this damn elevator. It slowed to a stop and she looked up as the door opened, Alex's car parked and running right in front of her.

 _Her last time getting into the back of Alex's car and just… going. Like a normal family with things to do._

Once they arrived at the D.E.O., the four of them slowly and silently headed down to the restricted wing; robotic and hollow. Trying not to think about what was coming.

 _Her last time walking through the D.E.O., her last time wondering if this was the place that she saved the world._

Winn met them at the door. Lena and J'onn were inside, going over some last-minute details that Violet didn't want to know. "We're all set. I know we never got a chance to go over all that futuristic tech you promised to tell me about, but considering the circumstances, I'm willing to forgive you," he winked, doing his best to try and alleviate some of the weight of the room.

 _Her last time rolling her eyes at Winn._

"Thanks for that," Violet responded, voice hoarse from working so hard all morning just to keep it together. She nudged him with her shoulder and watched as he suddenly became serious.

"You're going to be ok. I know it." Winn locked in on her face. "Everything I believe is based in science and data and information, but this? I can just feel it." Violet took a breath and nodded, surprised that she found herself feeling a little better. Even if it was a lie just to ease her mind… there was an assurance in his words that actually did help. Winn broke eye contact and headed back to Lena, ready to start setting up. Alex, Maggie, and Kara were already talking to her, all with very serious looks on their faces, presumably going over the specifications one more time.

Violet met J'onn's gaze from across the room and was admittedly wary when he started towards her. They had said their heartfelt goodbyes last night. Complete with wise advice and encouraging words. Today Violet wasn't feeling especially up to talking. She was tired and afraid and emotionally drained and still had her hardest goodbyes in front of her. Somehow J'onn seemed to instinctively know that, and instead of trying to get her to open up or adding another finite painful goodbye to her morning, he simply put an arm around her shoulder and stood silently by her side.

Violet exhaled and relaxed. From her very first moment here – in this time – J'onn seemed to know exactly what she needed. Exactly how she needed to be handled and treated and comforted. _Why should this be any different?_

After some time lost in her own head, Violet felt J'onn shift and looked up to see Winn and Lena heading their way. Winn started explaining something to J'onn and Violet found herself waiting next to Lena. She looked over at her, watching the intensity on her face as she followed the conversation between J'onn and Winn.

Violet cleared her throat and waited for Lena to pull her attention away from them. "Thanks for um… thanks for figuring all this out. For giving me a chance to get home," _or not,_ Violet quietly thanked her, alternating between looking at her and looking at her hands.

Lena leaned over and gave her a brief hug, softening at her gratitude. "I expect L-Corp could use someone like you someday. You'll have to come find me when you get home," _whatever that looks like_ , "I'd love to hear all about whatever comes next." Lena offered her a reassuring smile, trying to disguise the worry in her goodbye with intrigue and a quest for knowledge. Trying to push down the understanding that if this went wrong, it could very well be entirely her fault.

Violet watched the flicker of concern pass and forced a nod. She immediately assumed Lena was afraid for her and trying not to show it. _Maybe she doesn't expect the device to work_ , Violet thought, heart pounding once again. Suddenly there were a million thoughts running through her head, each one triggering more dread than the last.

As Lena stepped back towards Winn, Violet turned from them and found herself face to face with Kara.

All at once the fears that had been screaming in her head went silent.

She felt her eyes start to sting and took a deep breath as she felt her chest tighten up. Even the idea of saying goodbye to Kara last night had been too much to deal with. She wished putting it off would have made it easier, and it was easy to see that Kara felt the same way. She plastered a heartbroken smile on her face and crinkled her eyes up as she held her arms out to Violet.

"You were amazing," Kara whispered, knowing this was her last chance to reassure Violet that she had her back. "And I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure you get the life that you're owed."

Violet relaxed in her arms and felt her tears start to fall. "Thank you. For everything. Past, present, and future everything," Violet whispered as Kara held her. Kara shook her head, unable to verbalize _there's no reason to thank me for anything I love you and it's my job to be everything you need_. Luckily, that slight motion was enough to get her point across, though Violet wasn't having any of it. "I mean it. You're my best friend, and I wouldn't be the person I am without you. I'm so glad I got to see you again," she murmured as they both let themselves fall apart.

As she held on to Kara and waited for her tears to fall away into sniffles she felt a presence behind her. She looked up to Kara who pulled back, placed a kiss on her forehead, and nudged her towards Maggie as they traded final 'I love you's.

Maggie enveloped her in a hug and swore she could feel Violet shaking in her arms. Violet latched on right away, hoping to find a way to make these last moments last forever. Maggie thought she caught a whimper, barely audible, and pulled back ever so slightly.

"Hey," Maggie gently raised Violet's face to hers, taking note of the matching tears in her eyes. "You'll see us soon. I really believe that." Violet nodded, wondering if Maggie would still feel that way if she knew what her future held—was _supposed to_ hold. "And we're going to come find you. As soon as we can get our hands on you, we're going to get you home and take full advantage of everything that we just fixed."

Violet felt her breath catch in her throat and threw her arms around Maggie. She wanted nothing more than to believe that was possible. That Maggie would survive.

"I love you Violet," Maggie whispered into her ear as she held her tightly for the last time.

"I love you too," Violet squeezed and took a deep breath, still silently praying that Maggie would stay safe. Either because Cadmus was gone, or because Kara would protect her. She would give – had _tried_ to give – just about anything to ensure that Maggie would survive. That Alex would survive.

Alex.

Mom.

Violet turned to her last goodbye. Her hardest goodbye.

She was already at a loss for words, afraid that if she opened her mouth all that would come out would be a sob. Hanging her head to hide her tears, she slowly made her way over to Alex who instantly raised her arms and wrapped them around her kid.

For a moment, they just stood there. Holding each other before they had to let go. Before they had to face reality and the unknown.

Alex spoke first, attempting to go for simple and concise before she lost it completely. "I love you kid, so much. I didn't know how much I could love someone until I met you," she whispered. Even as she forced herself to smother as much emotion as possible, a tear slipped down her cheek.

Violet fell apart at the sight of Alex's tears and she found herself wishing she could talk to her mom. Not _Alex_ , but her mom. Her mom who would definitely know the right thing to say, and who would absolutely be able to make her feel better. Somehow. Violet screwed her eyes shut and decided that this version of her mother would just have to do. "I'm really scared," she whispered, and Alex swore she could feel Violet shaking.

"Me too, baby," Alex sniffled and clung to her daughter even tighter. She left it at that, not feeling like she had anything to add that might make Violet feel any better. The reality of the situation was that this was something to fear. No matter how confident Winn was, how calmly and concisely Lena had explained the alterations… this was untested technology with an amped up power source and potentially devastating effects. And that was if it went _right_. If it went wrong… Alex swallowed and held on as she felt her stomach flip.

Violet hiccupped at Alex's statement and held on. "I love you mom," she finally got out; strained and strangled. Like she was doing everything in her power to keep it together behind those words. Which was futile. The second she said it, the floodgates opened; Alex began openly weeping, followed closely by Violet. And Maggie. And Kara.

It took Violet a few minutes to settle, but being in Alex's arms helped. Her sobs eventually subsided and Alex pulled back and held Violet's face in her hands, focusing in on her kid's terrified eyes swimming with tears. "You are the strongest, bravest, most incredible person I have ever met. What you did here… the entire planet may very well owe you it's future, and I hope the world you get back to is everything you deserve," she brushed a strand of hair out of Violet's face and watched her face crumple as she further fell apart.

"All I want is you guys," she whimpered and glanced over to Maggie and Kara. Alex felt her heart break and pulled Violet back to her.

"And all we want is you," Maggie murmured, resting a hand on Violet's back and gently leaning in to place a kiss on the back of her head.

Winn hung back, careful not to intrude. Even he was getting a little misty eyed at the scene in front of him. He glanced back towards Lena, who was off to the side and trying to give them some semblance of privacy by turning all her focus towards the tech in front of her. After a nod from J'onn, Winn softly cleared his throat and watched as Violet straightened up, pulled herself together, and nodded at Alex and Maggie as she swept the back of her hand across her cheek and attempted to wipe away tears.

Violet slowly turned to Winn, heart pounding.

This was what had to happen.

No matter what might happen to her, she had to leave.

She had to give her mom – and her mama and her aunt and this entire world – the chance to get back on track. The chance to live the happy, normal life they deserved.

Winn's instructions sounded a million miles away. Violet tried to pay attention, tried to focus, but she kept finding herself pulled back to her family; standing there, frozen, leaning on each other, fear and heartbreak on all their faces. She remembered this part; Winn telling her what to do. What to expect. She knew that in a few seconds she would fall into nothingness.

She only hoped that she would come out of it on the other side.

Violet continued to nod in Winn's direction but she couldn't make herself watch him any longer. She had to pay attention to Alex. After everything… if she got back to wherever she was going and her mother wasn't there? Violet blinked rapidly; she couldn't let that all-encompassing, truly terrifying thought be the last thing that came with her from this time. She focused all her energy on Alex, boring holes into her soul as she tried to keep herself tethered to her mother. Tried to find a way to preserve this image of her and bring it with her.

In case—

And that's when she felt it; that memorable tingle, starting in her fingertips and making its way up her neck and scalp. The tingle that, if she remembered correctly, was about to turn into a shiver and then tunnel vision and then—

Alex felt the familiar electricity in the air and reached down for Maggie's hand, holding on for dear life. The * **POP** * and flash of light that followed nearly caused her to vomit.

Once again, the spot that Violet had been standing was suddenly sickeningly empty.

No one moved.

And for those who had been there the first time around, no one so much as _breathed_.

Alex could feel her heart pounding as she waited. Terrified. There was no doubt in her mind that if things went the way they had before… if Violet reappeared... the force of the blast would kill her.

Together they stood there, waiting, for what felt like hours.

The first sign of movement came from Winn, who slowly backed away and began analyzing what little data he could. He needed to find something, _anything_ , that might prove that Violet had made it through. There was no way they could know what she would find on the other side of this, but he had to at least be able to tell Alex and Maggie that the device had worked. Lena quietly followed.

Even once J'onn took a step, Kara, Alex and Maggie stayed put.

Alex kept her eyes trained on the spot Violet had stood, silently praying for the hum in the air (that she swore she could still hear) to stop. She needed the air to settle. She willed any indication that Violet might not have made it through to cease. And Maggie? Maggie just gripped her hand as tightly as she could manage. She hadn't been around for the first attempt. She didn't know what she was looking for. What small change would signal the success or failure of the device. So she held on to Alex.

Silent.

Waiting.

After some time, between Lena and Winn and the incredible amount of technology and research and information they had at their fingertips, neither one could find anything that so much as hinted at the failure of the wristband. They left Alex and Maggie to their own grief and worry, but they did eventually start to explain to Kara that all signs pointed to a successful trip to… wherever it was that Violet was supposed to end up. Kara, heavy-hearted and despondent, simply nodded in understanding. She relayed the information to Alex and Maggie, and then returned to her post beside them, waiting and watching.

It took almost a full day before Alex allowed herself to be removed from the sub-basement. Maggie and Kara stayed by her side the entire time, only attempting to guide her home once she was convinced that Violet wasn't coming back. That whatever the wristband had been able to do, it had at least succeeded in pulling her from their time.

But anything else? As Alex began to mourn the loss of her daughter, she prayed that Violet was safe and that one day they would find out what happened to her.

Until then, all they could do was wait.

And vow to find their baby girl as quickly as possible.

* * *

 **This was far and away the hardest chapter to write. Absolutely 100% hands down no question. As evidenced by the 37 years it took to get it uploaded. I think the next chapter is the last one, but it's taking a while to work itself out too, so that may not end up being true.**

 **Thank you, guys, for being so patient with me. I didn't realize quite how hard it would be to finish this.**


	61. Chapter 61

Buzzing.

Ringing.

She could feel herself floating in and out of consciousness.

Like she was deep underwater and fighting to reach the surface, struggling to wake up when all her body wanted to do was stay indefinitely unaware of the world around her.

She tried to think – about _anything_ – but every time her mind reached out for a thought it disappeared.

And holy fuck did her head hurt.

She tried to push through. Tried to open her eyes.  
Tried to remember where she was.

There was a lingering fear in the back of her head, but she couldn't remember… why.  
She barely shifted and instantly felt like throwing up. Maybe she was sick. Maybe she had a fever and that's why everything felt so fuzzy. She attempted to recall last night. Yesterday. Anything.

She felt like she was in a dream.  
Having one of those lucid moments where you suddenly realize you just _are_ and you have no idea how or why.

She finally won the battle with herself and squinted as her eyes opened to bright, unfocused surroundings. After blinking and working to focus she was able to discern that she was… in a room.

 _Great._

 _Super helpful._

She furrowed her brow and tried to work past the headache as she continued to struggle to think. She flexed her fingers, felt soft linen beneath them, and deduced that she was (probably) in a bed.

 _What else- keep going_ , she talked herself through turning her head without vomiting.

Blue.

Blue walls.

Sunlight streaming through a window.

And a dresser. Clothes in a pile in a corner. A full bookcase.

Framed pictures with faces she couldn't make out.

Open books – textbooks – on a desk.

A grey sweatshirt over the back of a chair.

This was _her_ room. She knew that.  
Of course she knew that. Why wouldn't she know that? Fuck, why the hell couldn't she _think_? She lifted her head and started to roll over to get out of bed. As she swung her feet over the edge she was hit with another wave of nausea.

In that moment – that moment of purging her mind of everything other than _do not throw up right now_ – she was hit with flashes of violence. Running.  
Fighting.

Red.

She shuddered.

She struggled to hold on to those images, to recall whatever this dream was before it slipped away forever. She frowned as she paused on the edge of her bed. Closed her eyes again, tried to reach it.  
But it was gone.

She opened her eyes and her frown deepened.  
None of this made sense.

Once she felt her stomach settle she stood and took a better look around her room. There was an inexplicably foreign feeling of familiarity, and an equally matched sense of unease.

She made her way out of her room, instinctively heading down the hall to… _the kitchen_ , she told herself as she noted a figure sitting at a table, back to her.  
She knew her.  
The woman, the woman she definitely knew but couldn't quite place, looked up as she heard her come up behind her. "Hey babe. Don't you have class today?"

 _Class_. "Yeah…" _Class was_ , "not until this afternoon." _Right_.

The woman at the table nodded and took another sip from the mug in her hands. "You don't usually sleep in like that, up late last night?"

She frowned. "I… don't think so."

The woman watched her as she slowly lowered herself into the chair across from her, too preoccupied to even make eye contact.

"Vi. You feeling ok?"

Violet felt her head snap up. She was suddenly hit with a head rush and inundated with thoughts and memories and dreams and found herself entirely unable to discern what was what; fear and love and loss and pain and laughter and war and loneliness and anger and pride and responsibility and, "I… no, not really," she breathed.

Alex set her mug down and reached across the table, resting the back of her hand on Violet's forehead. "You do feel a little warm…" she murmured as she moved to stroke Violet's brow.

Violet closed her eyes, flooded with an instinctive relief at her mother's touch. _Her mom_. She remembered her mom. She remembered… losing her. "You were dead," she whispered.

Alex froze. "What?"

Violet's eyes snapped open, realizing she had no idea how to explain what she'd just said. She had no idea how to verbalize what she was thinking, feeling…

"Vi. What did you say. What does that mean." Alex asked her, calm but insistent.

"It was a dream I had… I think… I don't know. I can't remember…"

Alex stopped her and took her hand. "It's ok. Just tell me what you can remember."

"I remember… a whole _life_. I remember you were gone and I remember being alone and scared, and fighting." _I sound insane_ , Violet thought to herself as she paused.

"Keep going," Alex prompted.

Violet narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and looked at her suspiciously, a little taken aback at how _not_ concerned her mom was. She felt like she was having a psychotic break and her mom didn't seem the least bit surprised. This was not a normal thing to wake up to; your daughter suddenly not remembering what was real and what wasn't. Why the hell was she taking this so well?

"There was a flash of light… and then I was… somewhere else. And you were there again. And Aunt Kara. And I remember being angry." Violet kept going as she felt it come back to her, "I was there to fix it. To fix… something… and then I remember… trying to save you but someone stopped me. Hurt me. Everything hurt."

Alex closed her eyes and inhaled slowly through her nose. "Yeah," she whispered, "I remember that too."

"How… how do you remember that? My dream." _Or my psychotic break_.

Violet waited for an answer, growing more impatient by the second. She opened her mouth to ask again, but her mom stopped her; "This is going to feel like a lot to take in, but first I want you to know that everything will settle down and start to make sense soon. We think."

"What does that mean," Violet demanded. _What the fuck is going on?_ She felt her pulse quicken, desperately anxious to find out what the hell was happening to her.

"Hey, it's ok." Alex reached for her again. "You're ok. I'm going to go over everything with you, I promise, but I need you start by just hearing me out." Violet forced herself to focus, eventually finding solace in the sincerity in her mother's eyes, and nodded as she tried to settle herself.

"What you're remembering, it's not a dream. It's fragments of another timeline."

Violet stared.

"Those things really happened. And much more that you don't remember yet. And honestly you might not. At all. We're not entirely sure how this works. A version of you was sent back in time, to fix something, just like you remember."

"That's insane," Violet mumbled, "this is insane. Time travel isn't real—"

"Well, from what I can tell you just did it, so I promise you, it's real. You went back and you found me. And your aunt. And you helped us fix a problem that would have ended the world."

Violet looked up at her mom, wide eyed. "I did?" she whispered.

Alex softened as a smile appeared on her face. "Yeah. You saved the world baby."

Violet felt a surge of pride; flashes of strategy meetings and military summits flying through her head mixed in with images of aliens—

"Dominators. They were here, I remember them destroying everything, but then… I remember them leaving?" Violet closed her eyes and cocked her head, trying to sort through her conflicting thoughts.

"I know," Alex answered, carefully quiet so as not to overwhelm Violet. "We spent years researching how this technology might work, how it might affect you. Right now, you're remembering both timelines. Both versions of what happened."

Violet pursed her lips, desperately trying to wrap her muddled mind around what she was hearing. "So where I am now… what happened here? Which one is real?"

"The Dominators still came, but thanks to you this time we managed to defeat them. We were able to reach a truce. There was violence, but they left before things got too out of hand. Things went back to normal. The fighting, the death and the fear and the running, all those things that you remember, you stopped them from happening."

"I think I remember that… talking to you guys about how to handle an invasion. And you. Or the hologram of you, that told us what to do." Violet instinctively reached for her wrist, fingers settling on the device she now remembered was responsible for everything. Alex glanced down and picked up her hand, inspecting the wristband that definitely hadn't been on her daughters arm last night.

"Haven't seen this thing in ages," she murmured. She recalled locking herself in her lab for weeks – months even – determined to build the wristband, to figure it out and test it out so they knew what to expect. The prototype she had come up with was crude, but looked almost exactly like the one Violet had arrived with. Since that version, Alex had been able to tweak and alter and streamline both its appearance and its functionality, so this original band was long since passed.

"You told me to keep it," Violet slowly reported as her memories started to fall in line. "And that's how I got back. Where you… and Aunt Kara… and… someone else? We got the hologram working and you told everyone how to stop the Dominators. But then I… I got stuck. I couldn't get back." Violet frowned as she searched for the next memory.

"We tried to send you back, but the band was damaged," Alex nodded, but didn't push her any more than that. If she was right about this, it was going to take a while for Violet to get everything straight in her head, and prodding from her would only pressure her and make it harder.

"I stayed with you while Winn fixed it. But… there was something else that I had to fix… I can't remember…" Violet screwed up her face as she tried to find the string of thought that would lead her to the answer. All she could tell was that there was _something_ that she desperately needed to know.

Alex paused and furrowed her brow. "Something else? You never told us about anything el—"

 _Us._

 _Maggie._

"Maggie," Violet blurted out. She felt like she'd been struck by lightning, suddenly remembering everything. "Where's Maggie?"

"Maggie?" Alex asked, frown deepening.

* * *

 **I swear to you; the next and final chapter will be up tomorrow.**

 **I cannot in good conscience make anyone suffer through that cliffhanger any longer than that.**


	62. Chapter 62

Violet's heart plummeted.

 _It didn't work. I couldn't save her._ She closed her eyes, heart breaking. "Maggie. She's… she's not—"

Alex's eyes opened wide, and she reached out for Violet's hand. "What? No! God no! She – she's fine! She's out working a case. I just… I haven't heard you call her _Maggie_ in more than twenty years. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, she's ok, she's completely fine."

Violet allowed herself to breathe, a relieved smile making its way across her face. "She is? It worked?" she whispered.

Alex caught herself before jumping in to correct her, unsure if she could truly trust Violet's memory quite yet. "What worked. Vi… what else happened while you were back there?"

Violet took a close look at her mother's perplexed face, and it dawned on her that she was completely in the dark. _Aunt_ _Kara never told her,_ she realized, readying herself to start explaining.

"I… uh. The first time that I… grew up… I guess…" Violet frowned. She was at the point where the memories were there, and the fog was lifting, but keeping it all straight was going to be a bitch. "Before the Dominators… something happened, and Maggie… Maggie died. She was killed. You never told me exactly what happened, just that Cadmus was responsible—"

Alex stood abruptly, the feet of her chair screeching across the floor as she pushed it out from under her. "Cadmus killed Maggie?" she whispered after a moment of stunned silence. Violet couldn't bring herself to meet her eyes, but nodded in affirmation.

Alex just stood there. Frozen.

Forget the fact that she hadn't heard the word 'Cadmus' in years.

Forget the fact that there was another timeline of events where her wife was killed. Where she would have had to have lived – raised a _child_ – without her.

Forget the fact that somehow Violet managed to fix all that without her finding out.

Alex was stuck on the fact that twenty years ago, Violet – freshly arrived from a timeline where her entire family had been lost to inexplicable tragedy – had never said a word. Even when she'd finally let them in on the secret of her parentage, she'd still managed to keep that to herself.

Alex remembered that night, when Violet had told them, seemingly, everything. She remembered the elation and the relief and now it suddenly made so much more sense.

Alex rounded the table and sat herself next to Violet. As furious as she was about the idea of losing Maggie, it was something that had technically never happened and she had no memory of. But this was all very real to Violet. This was a life changing event that so deeply impacted her that she changed the course of history to prevent it. "Hey. Tell me," she softly encouraged.

Violet raised her eyes. "I don't know… exactly… what to tell you," she mumbled.

Alex pulled her into a hug. "Whatever you want to," she whispered, "you don't have to keep secrets anymore."

 _I don't have to keep secrets anymore_ , Violet let her mother's words wash over her and relaxed, suddenly aware of how tense and rigid she had been. For _months_. Secrets and lies and half-truths and 'weight of the world' decisions. None of those mattered now. Whatever was done was done and she could actually _breathe_.

Violet sat back and took a moment to try and compile her thoughts, the memories that still didn't quite fit together. "I was four. She was on duty and something happened. All I ever knew was that it was Cadmus. Then when I went back and I actually met her... I couldn't let it happen again. So I tried to help you guys go after them. After Cadmus."

Alex swallowed the lump in her throat. If she had known, if she'd had even an _inkling_ that Violet had any sort of personal vendetta against Cadmus, she would never have let her anywhere _near_ that damn investigation. She tried to take a breath and tell herself that everything had turned out ok.

Violet watched Alex swallow her anger and had to push herself to continue. "I knew that I wouldn't be around long enough to save her myself, but I thought maybe if I could help take down Cadmus ahead of time, before they could—"

"Wait, but we didn't. Not right then anyway. We got Lilian Luthor away from them, but they stayed operational in some capacity for years before we finally wiped them out completely."

Violet frowned but nodded. "I remember wondering if she would be the end of it. Sounds like I was right to."

Alex tried to play catch up, making excuses for the disparity between explanation and reality. "That must have been enough to save her… changed their timeline just enough."

Violet raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Innocent as always.

"What." Alex narrowed her eyes. "What else aren't you telling me."

Violet gulped. "When I was trying to figure out if I could save her... I tried to keep it to myself. The one time I tried to bring it up… I didn't get into specifics, but Aunt Kara told me right away that I couldn't change anything else. I couldn't try to fix something unrelated to Flashpoint. She said that's what started it all in the first place – someone going back and trying to fix something to make their own life better. So, I decided that I would just… take care of it myself. But eventually she kind of figured it out. And she made me tell her when Maggie was supposed to die."

"Of course Kara knew," Alex mumbled. She tried to recall a specific instance where Kara had saved Maggie from Cadmus. She couldn't. Kara had saved them both countless times, it would be impossible to know exactly which one had been at Violet's request.

"Not specifically so she could save her, it wasn't like that," Violet rushed to justify her aunt's actions. She'd literally just finished explaining how important it had been to her aunt that they avoid any additional alterations, "but so if the time came – if Maggie's life was in danger even after we took Lilian Luthor down – someone would know what was at stake. And it wouldn't all be on me."

Alex listened to Violet defend Kara's 'selfish' actions, though it was immediately obvious to her that they were anything but. "She saved you both. She saved Maggie… but she also saved you. From feeling responsible. No matter what happened." _The least selfish thing she could have possibly done_.

Violet thought it over, ultimately coming to the same conclusion after looking at the situation from her mom's point of view. She'd have to remember to thank her aunt when she saw her; for making sure she came back to the life she'd prayed for. A life where her mom and her mama were both alive and well and by her side.

Alex watched as the seriousness on Violet's face dissolved into a soft, relaxed smile. Her heart swelled and she found herself nearly overcome with an unfamiliar sense of complete and total peace and relief. Even once they'd found Violet as a baby, once they had started to raise her, begun to feel like a traditional family – free from the complications of time travel – Alex had never been able to feel 100% content. She'd completely fallen in love with the person Violet had been when she'd showed up all those years ago, and there was always a small nagging voice in the back of her head that was anxiously waiting to find out what happened when Violet had been sent back. Waiting to see if their timelines would converge again, or if that version of Violet was simply lost to the universe.

Alex heard a key in lock behind her and watched as Violet's face changed from calm and content to anxious anticipation. Violet felt her breath catch in her throat; she knew what was coming and was still somehow entirely unprepared for it. Alex squeezed her hand as the knob turned.

The front door opened and Maggie pushed her way inside, tossing a jacket and her keys onto the counter as she exhaled loudly. The case she'd been working on was going nowhere and god it was good to be home. Her eyes settled on Alex and Violet together at the table. Alex turned slowly towards her, but Violet… Violet was just staring at her, wide eyed and open mouthed. Almost like she was stuck in some sort of silent trance.

Maggie furrowed her brow, "Vi?"

Violet snapped back to the present and shut her mouth, but other than that… nothing. All she could do was stare. At Maggie. At her mama.

Maggie tentatively headed their way, unease growing. "Al, what's wrong? What's going on?" she asked, not taking her eyes off Violet.

"Violet's having kind of an intense morning," Alex hesitated, trying to ease into an explanation. They had been waiting for this day for a long time, but since they had never known exactly when Violet had been pulled back from, they were never entirely sure when in time she would be returned to. "She woke up remembering what happened before. Before she was sent back to correct Flashpoint."

Maggie's eyes went wide. "She's back?" she whispered.

Alex grinned and nodded, turning back to Violet. Maggie slowly made her way over and sat next to Violet who continued to silently track her every movement.

"Hey kiddo," Maggie whispered, a grin on her face and tears in her eyes.

Violet opened her mouth to respond, decided it was pointless, and simply launched herself into a hug. Maggie grinned at Alex over her shoulder and held on tight.

Violet inhaled, taking in the scent of her mama, not entirely understanding how it could instantly be so familiar and so comforting. "I didn't know if I would ever see you again," she murmured into her shoulder. "Either of you," she amended as she turned to catch Alex's eye.

With that, Alex allowed her own tears to fall and moved to join in their embrace.

For a while they just sat together. Holding each other and thanking every god they could think of that Violet had somehow made it through and back into their lives. "So, what do we do now?" Maggie asked once she was finally willing to break away.

"Well…" Alex frowned as she tried to formulate a plan, "it'll probably take some time to get everything sorted out. In a sense, she just got back. Even though it doesn't feel like it on our end."

Violet nodded slowly, "I remember everything from before, it's like I fell asleep in 2017 and then… just woke up today."

Maggie paused, consciously careful with how she phrased her next question. "How much do you remember of… this timeline?" _Of our lives together, the way it was always supposed to be._

Alex looked between them, suddenly realizing that was a question that she'd subconsciously been avoiding, instead preferring to revel in the knowledge that Violet had survived the wristband and made it back to them.

But Maggie had a point.

In all their tests and trials with the wristband, the one thing they could never be sure of was _which_ version of Violet she would be when she returned:  
The child that had been raised in war?  
Or the child that had grown up in a loving, stable home. That they had been so careful with, so grateful for. That they had raised together every single day for the last nineteen years.

Regardless of "which" Violet was sitting in front of them, if this was truly a 'one or the other' scenario, they would still end up mourning the loss of some version of their daughter.

Violet frowned and then nodded. Slowly. "I do. It's like I have memories of a life and then memories of a dream. Like… I know who I am here… but I also have this whole story in the back of my head, that feels surreal but it's too vivid to be a dream."

Maggie exhaled, relief washing over her. Somehow both versions of Violet had survived the unknown and they might be able to get away with not having to say goodbye to either one of them. Alex pulled Violet close to her with one arm, closing her eyes as she pressed her lips to Violet's forehead.

Of all the possible return scenarios – which existed within a much larger pool of generalized 'what if' scenarios – this was the one she had been afraid to pray for. The best possible outcome; a convergence of consciousness where neither timeline erased the other.

"Once you get your bearings, we need to call your aunt," Alex murmured to Violet. "She'll be so happy to hear all this; that you're back. That you're _you_."

Violet nodded and smiled, wedging herself further into her mother's arms.

These were feelings she never thought she'd get to experience.

Peace.

Contentedness.

A complete and total lack of fear or anger or secrecy or worry.

Like all was right with the world.

Like everything she had been through was somehow worth it.

Like maybe the steady flow of memories of growing up with both her parents in a world that found a way to survive the Dominators and everything else that had been thrown at it was her reward for all that she'd suffered through.

Like this was where she belonged.

* * *

 **I'll be honest, I've been writing and erasing and rewriting these last two chapters for a month, and this was the first version that finally felt like it had an ending. I hope the finale I was able to put on paper came close to the way I saw it play out in my mind. It was always going to end this way, but figuring out how to actually _say_ what I wanted to was a hell of a thing.**

 **I can't express the gratitude I have for everyone who has stuck it out with me and let me follow through with this. I never in a million years thought (1) I would be able to finish this, and (2) it would become so much more complex and elaborate than the "what if Alex Danvers had a kid" blip of an idea I had a year ago.**

 **Thank you all for reading and writing. I never would have been able to turn this into a tangible _thing_ without responses from you guys to make me feel like I was creating and sharing something worthwhile. I am so immensely proud of how Violet turned out. It became so natural to write for her that it's like she became her own person and just _slayed_ (what can I say, the kid did good) and those of you who have commented and told me how much you love her too have not only made my day/week/life in general, but made it that much easier and more important to write her.**

 **Until next time.**


End file.
